Round The Mountain

[Rowan]

Who else is going to do the Dutch Mill Taranaki Cycle Challenge on a unicycle? Bruce & Danny? The round lake Taupo thing was fun so this shouldn't be too bad- although in my opinion we have more broken glass here and there is about 8000 less people on bikes. It is a 150km ride that you can do half each in team of two if you want. I'm gonna go meet Tony and Dave. Gotta go. Sign up for the round the mountain if you haven't already!!!

[BruceH]

Register by the 10th for $65, after which it's $80.
Training hasn't gone as anticipated but I'll be registering tonight and see you on the day.

[Rowan]

Register by the 10th for $65, after which it's $80.
Training hasn't gone as anticipated but I'll be registering tonight and see you on the day.

Yeah sorry about the late warning for that- I have been pretty slack about getting online and posting. I wish Telecom would hurry up and make internet without the phone since they unbundled. I'll start training soon- I plan to ride up Mt Taranaki again to the North Egmont Visitors Center, and some long rides up Carrington Rd perhaps (gotta suss a potential sponsor). It'll be good to see you there Bruce- I'm planning on leaving Bell Block on the day at about 5:30am and unicycling from New Plymouth at 6am so that I get a bit more than an hour head start on the first bikes, allowing me to finish before prize giving even if it takes me 11 hours. I figure if I ride an extra 8-10km at each end of the round the mountain I will still achieve an imperial century, since 150km is 12km short of 100 miles. I'm looking forwards to it- not long now!

[Rowan]

I remember how at Taupo I left it til the last minute to find somewhere to stay and I just got lucky. I dunno if you have plans already on where to stay or what Bruce, but if you need somewhere to stay you are welcome to camp on the floor in my lounge or something. After riding round the mountain you might want somewhere more comfortable to sleep than the floor, but at least it is an option if you have nothing better.

[BruceH]

Thanks for the offer Rowan, very kind, but my Dad lives in NP so I'll be crashing at his place. Looking forward to a nice cool, calm day (yeah right!). Last year on 02/01 it was cold wet & windy all the way...then on the 27/01 cyclists were dropping like flies in 38° heatwave. I'll be starting about 5:00am, I'll see you as you wizz by ...

[Rowan]

5a.m.? Wow. That gives you 13 hours before prize giving to get around. I hope it is not too wet or I will leave my MP3 player at home. I'll be surprised if my little 28" can get around faster than your 36" especially if you get a head start. It's gonna be interesting. This will probably be my last 100 miles on the 28" - I hope to get a 36" sometime in the near future. Good to hear you've got a place to stay.

[BruceH]

yep, the organiser gave me a call coz he thought 13hrs must be a mistake. Don't know if I'll make it round though Rowan, I stopped riding a fortnight ago with sore knees and last year bailed out for that reason. Yes, buy a 36", you'll never look back.

[Rowan]

Don't know if I'll make it round

How far did you make it Bruce? Did you go past Opunake? I have done a lengthy writeup on the Unicyclist.com fora which anyone is welcome to read if they are interested in my vague recollection of the event. Thanks for coming along and entering Bruce! It was good not being the only Unicyclist- even though it was good being one of the only Unicyclists.

[BruceH]

Well Done Rowan, awesome achievement. Last year I pulled out at Midhurst (125km) with stuffed knees, this year I stopped at Opunake (63km) with the knees screaming again. Don't want to do them permanent injury. I was riding 125 cranks and should probably have stuck with 150's instead. Great time Rowan. See you next year.

[Rowan]

The Dutch Mill Cycle Challenge highlights were on Sky sports quite a few times this week and last week- did anyone see it? Or tape it? Haha. I didn't get to see it but there was quite a good rolling interview with me. I've had a few comments from people who saw it and they thought it was cool. I've got a Coker now so the round the mountain will be easier next year!

[Rowan]

I ended up buying the DVD so I could see the footage.

Who would like to enter in the Round the Mountain 2009?

It is being held on January 10th, $55 for an adult solo rider or $30 for under 18 years old solo. This year there will be an "Oddball" category, catering for unicycles, hand bikes, and any other non-conventional ways of getting around. Be warned they do provide water stations but they don't have electrolyte drinks, so bring/buy your own! There is an easy 152km option and also a 181km route for Ken Looi.

There is also the Dutch Mill Round the Mountain coming up on January the 25th. They do provide electrolyte drinks, and a lot more riders tend to enter. This one is $85 to enter.

[Tony_M]

I'm potentially interested in the 152km race. That website seemingly has no info on the Oddball category. Are there prizes up for grabs for Oddballers?

[Rowan]

I'm potentially interested in the 152km race. That website seemingly has no info on the Oddball category. Are there prizes up for grabs for Oddballers?

The prizes in the smaller round the mountain (smaller in numbers) are smaller. The Oddball category definitely does exist- even if it's just in the event organisers mind at the moment. If you are only in it for prizes you are much better off doing the Lake Taupo race as they have much bigger sponsors. If prizes still motivate you then maybe the 25th of January ride would be better as they usually give away a car (last years one went to a Japanese man who worked for a rival car company, who could not accept it and the organisers sold it for him). I imagine there might be a prize or at least recognition. I will ask next time I'm in at the shop.

[Tony_M]

Winning a prize is a nice bonus, but not a compelling reason to enter the event. I was asking more to find out whether this race, like the Karapoti, is interested in encouraging people to enter on non-standard cycles.

Anyways I spent a bit of time casting around on the net for upcoming cycle races to do in the near future and found the 84km Rodney Rabbit Ride http://tr.nelson.co.nz/rodneyrabbitride.htm which is just one week before the Lake Taupo race www.cyclechallenge.com. There's also the Pukekohe 100km (and 50km) Express in October 19 http://www.pukekoheexpress.co.nz/ I think I'll enter the Puke Express and try to do 100km in less than 4 hours. On my schlumpf 36" I should be able to maintain a 25km/hr cruising speed. Might even finish before some of the two-wheeled cyclists!

[Rowan]

Winning a prize is a nice bonus, but not a compelling reason to enter the event. I was asking more to find out whether this race, like the Karapoti, is interested in encouraging people to enter on non-standard cycles.

I asked him some more and he said "You will have the same chance as anyone else to win a prize, including a $2000 cash prize. The Oddballs will start at 6am, 2 hours before the other riders". He seems to be wanting our participation to make it more fun for the bike riders- to give them inspiration and add colour to the event. There is a new pamphlet being put out soon and it will have more details about the Oddballs, hopefully he will update the website too.

[Rowan]

Winning a prize is a nice bonus, but not a compelling reason to enter the event. I was asking more to find out whether this race, like the Karapoti, is interested in encouraging people to enter on non-standard cycles.

The organiser of the race is now your biggest competitor selling Qu-ax unicycles to bike shops. So he has some interest in being friendly to his one-wheeled customers. Also for the people on regular bikes- he wants their experience to be even more rich and exciting while riding around the mountain, and by including "Unicycles, handbikes, penny farthings, and single speed classics" as a categories to ride under I guess he thinks he will encourage a more diverse range of riders to enter.

I have paid my $55 entry fee, the ride is on the 10th of January. Before signing the waiver I asked about the rules of entry and if wearing a helmet was compulsory for unicycles. The event director told me that the rules of the road will apply- so unicycles can choose what they wear (although he would like to encourage helmet use and has some he can loan). So that's cool!

I'll register for the other round the mountain later- you all should too!