The Sunday Training Ride

Taupo to Hastings

Sunday 2nd April 2000

by Jason Kelly

Another Sunday morning arrived and a nice gentle long ride was planned. As we were in Taupo, we had planned to bike home to Hastings. The brakes on the tandem had even been adjusted in anticipation of some good downhill speeds.

The weather was overcast and cool with a forecast of showers later on. Since it was fine, John Barry and I thought we might as well start off and see how far we could get before the weather closed in. So, at about 8.35am, we set off on the tandem (the two seat Cannondale Tandem), bound for home.

My legs didn’t feel too bad after the previous days ride (100k Rotorua to Taupo Flyer on the triplet tandem) and we started off at a gentle pace. The first half an hour or so saw an average speed of around 28/29km/h. This was about what I expected for the day and the hills were still to come! We rode up the gentle slopes at a reasonable pace and once out on the plains, rode into clear blue sky. The weather promised to get us the whole way home unabated!

Just past the Rangitaiki Tavern, we caught up to three cyclists on mountain bikes, complete with backpacks. We rolled over the top of a small rise and rode down the other side at 60km/h, leaving the mountain bikers just enough time to register that were passing them. As they were riding at about 15-20km/h, by the time we returned to cruise speed at the bottom, we could barely see them behind us.

The tandem enjoyed the rolling plains country and we quickly raised our average speed. We reached the first “real” hill at about 1 hour 40 minutes, which was about the same time it took us in the Taupo - Napier cycling classic. This hill was climbed all the way in the big chain ring (a 58) just to see if we could do it. We did and I knew then that we were riding at a good average pace.

From the top of the hill, it was downwards with some good descents. We managed around 85km/h maximum speed down the first big descent and then about 95km/h down the second big descent. Hill climbing was proving to be no problem - all hills can be climbed with the right gear, it is just the speed you want to do it at that hurts.

We reached the bottom of the Summit hill and spun into the small chain ring for the first time. On this climb we averaged around 15-16km/h without blowing the heart rate monitor. Once at the top of the summit, we were again greeted by clear blue sky and knew Hastings was still our target.

The tandem literally flew down the summit hill - we reached a top speed of just on 100km/h. Just as well no cars or trucks got in the way! The force on my face at 100km/h gave me visions of the effects of weightlessness. It is something that is not quickly forgotten.

Titiokura, all 3km of it, was reached and climbed fairly comfortably at around 13-14km/h. We were now into a good rhythm on the tandem and just cruised along. We again hit speeds in the 90km/h range on the descents.

We came upon two other cyclists riding home but, unfortunately for them, we caught them just over the crest of a hill. As we rode down, reaching a maximum speed of about 95km/h, they were just left standing still as their speedometers edged up to 80km/h (or so I hear!) The tandem sure does like the downhills and the 58:11 gear!

Approaching Eskdale, approximately 125km from where we started in Taupo, John asked what the time was. When I told him it was about 12.05pm (i.e. about 3 hours 30 minutes since we left Taupo), he almost fell off the bike. He knew we had been riding well but this was a bit over the top!

Despite my suggestion, we decided to miss Hill and Seafield Roads and instead rode through Bayview, Napier and on towards Hastings to St Georges Road to reach home. We rolled into my home gate at about 1.24pm.

Getting off the bike was quite easy and we still felt fairly comfortable. Reviewing the cycle computer, we (John Barry and myself) found that we had ridden the Kelly Rocket Tandem (two seat tandem) non-stop from Taupo to just south of Hastings, a total distance of approximately 172km, in 4 hours 49  minutes, at an average speed of just under 36 km/h, reaching a maximum speed of just on 100km/h (we didn’t want a speeding ticket!) down the Summit hill.

Now that’s what I call a Sunday training ride!

 

Rotorua to Taupo 100k Flyer

Saturday 1st April 2000

by Jason Kelly

The day dawned clear in Rotorua with fog south towards Taupo. By the start time of 10am, the fog had mostly lifted, leaving virtually perfect weather - fine, mild and little wind.

Approximately 1,000 riders, in four classes - elite, tandem, relay and social, lined up for the start. Eighteen tandems took part with at least four tandems from Hawkes Bay present.

After starting at the Rotorua racecourse, the race wended its way south through the Waikite Valley and up what the organisers euphemistically called a “steep” hill at the 41 kilometre mark. The hill, just 800 metres long, is extremely steep (an easy Burma Road equivalent!) and many riders abandoned pedalling their bikes in favour of walking to the top of the hill to meet the lone bagpiper. From the top of the hill, an exhilarating descent lead back to the main highway at Waitapou. After a brief section on the main highway, the course turned left to ride through mainly gentle rolling country in the Broadlands area before finishing inside the new multi-million dollar Taupo Events Centre.

The Kelly Triplet, captained by Jason Kelly and stoked by Patrick Kelly and John Barry, sat in the front bunch for the first 10 kilometres or so to get a feel for the strength of the field, especially the other tandems. At about the 10 kilometre mark, the Kelly Triplet launched an attack which left the majority of the field in their wake. Bryce Shapley, a member of the New Zealand National Road Squad and Stephen Ward, a member of the Ramblers Cycling Club, were the only two riders to survive the initial attack. Shortly afterwards, at speeds of up to 47km/h at the top of some short but solid hill climbs, the front bunch was reduced to purely Hastings riders - the Kelly Triplet and Stephen Ward.

From there, the pace was picked up by the leading bunches and the “steep” hill was reached after about an hour of total riding. The Kelly Triplet engaged its lowest gear and managed to climb reasonably comfortably along side Stephen Ward to the top of the hill at respectable speeds of 11 to 13 km/h, despite having an all up weight of around a quarter of a tonne (250kg) to push to the top. Once the top of the hill was reached, speeds quickly returned to 65km/h on the downhill slopes before hitting a top speed of just under 80km/h down a long hill on the main highway.

Once off the main highway and into the rolling Broadlands countryside, the front two bikes pushed on, averaging around 43km/h. It was reported that the chasing bunch, comprised of Bryce Shapley and promising top New Zealand riders, worked extremely hard together and pushed themselves to the limit but time checks revealed that they only managed to pull back 10 seconds on what was now a 3 minute gap to the front cyclists.

The race ended in a somewhat farcical manner as the lead car missed the final corner and took the two front bikes down the wrong road. The error was quickly noticed by the lead car but by the time the cyclists turned around, any chance of  a fair finish had vanished. Despite this, both the Kelly Triplet and Stephen Ward arrived at the entrance to the Taupo Events Centre almost simultaneously. The race organiser, realising the error was not of the cyclists making, offered both bikes 1st equal place and this was graciously accepted by all parties.

Overall, the Kelly Triplet and Stephen Ward recorded a time of 2 hours 26 minutes, at an average speed of just over 41 km/h. Just over three minutes later, the hard working chasing bunch arrived and finally saw the triplet again. A three minute gap was a gap of over 2 kilometres on the road. The next tandem arrived in a time of 2 hours 42 minutes. Riders continued to finish over the next four or so hours.

Prize giving was held at 5pm that evening in the Taupo Events Centre. Prizes were awarded for places in all grades except for social. A number of spot prizes were also awarded - some had to be earned by racing to the top of the rock wall inside the Centre. Janne Baker of Hastings won a spot prize in this manner.

The organisers are hoping for a field twice the size next year and this ride is a good opportunity to ride with other riders and on different roads. You also get in some short but serious hill climbing and a good opportunity to ride from Taupo to Hastings the following day!