The “Not so Gentle Annie” – Tandem style
Jason Kelly & Abbey Delore
Saturday 21 November 2020
by Jason Kelly
The genesis of the idea to ride the 137km Gentle Annie cycle ride from Taihape to Hastings on a tandem came after I suffered a mechanical about 20km into the 2019 event. By the time I had received and fitted a replacement wheel, my race was over for the day and it was just a training ride to the finish line. This was done at my pace and was much more enjoyable than racing. Just riding the 2020 event as opposed to racing it had appeal but the COVID19 lockdowns saw the event postponed from March and the idea just lingered.
After racing the Cycling Club Nationals in Waipukurau in July (also delayed due to COVID) and being literally knocked over and out in the final sprint while contesting for a medal, I was sitting at home barely able to stand or walk, let alone ride a bike, with a severely sore but x-rayed unbroken hip for a few weeks. The Gentle Annie was then re-scheduled to November and I wondered what my fitness level would be by then. At about the same time, Abbey Delore, a fellow glider pilot, who had heard I had done a bit of cycling, asked me for some advice on her bike’s gears as she had entered a hilly endurance event. Among other advice, I told her the tandem had big low gears and as a wild idea, how about we rode the Gentle Annie together on a tandem? After some thought, she agreed. The agreed rules were simple and twofold: have fun and don’t crash. She did advise me not to expect a Tour de France like performance but she would do her best. Also, she preferred to climb rather than descend, much like myself. It must be a glider pilot thing – it is almost always better to be climbing than sinking when gliding. I did note to Abbey at the time that the ride would be epic and massive.
Not having raced a tandem for a few years, as my brother Patrick and I hold the distinction of probably being the only riders ever banned from a racing cycling club for racing too fast on a tandem, some practice was required to get current. The opportunity arose to race with my mother in a Ramblers Cycling Club F grade race around the 25km Apley Road circuit in late October. This went extremely well with us winning the grade by almost ten minutes and also passing and recording a faster time than all the E graders. According to the competitive Abbey, the result meant a standard had been set. A subsequent check of the bike found the back wheel rim was cracked. When this was sent for repair, it was suggested this was caused by too much power.
Abbey’s first ride ever on a tandem was the day before the Gentle Annie when we rode together to set the bike up to fit her. We rode for less than an hour and Abbey asked if the Gentle Annie was harder than the Lake Taupo Challenge. I said well, actually, yes, as while it is a shorter distance (137km for the Gentle Annie versus 156km for Lake Taupo), the Gentle Annie has considerably more hill climbing. After some tweaks to the tandem’s handlebars and seat, it was deemed ready to go.
With the ride often called by riders the “Not so Gentle Annie” and advertised as having long climbs, steep climbs and long steep climbs with total climbing equivalent to approximately seven Te Mata Peak climbs (around 2,500m), my best guess was an estimated tandem event ride time of probably 6-7 hours so we entered the 9:30am early start group.
Event
day dawned as forecast with near ideal conditions – fine and dry, mild and with
a forecast westerly tail wind. We left for Taihape at 6am for the long, hilly
and windy drive to the start line. Abbey kept her eyes shut much of the way so
not to see the hills but could still feel the gradient changes. I was
inspecting the road for potential dangers of pot holes, debris and any other
hazards. Naturally, driving there we were going down the uphills and up the
down hills we would ride. Overall, the course is actually downhill, dropping
from 442 metres above sea level in Taihape to 11 metres above sea level in
Hastings. The road was typically quiet with a traffic count of six vehicles and
one sheep on the drive across. 
We arrived in Taihape with plenty of time to give the tandem a final check and get ready. Abbey had arranged to borrow some matching cycling kit from Pure Sports Nutrition so we looked like a professional team.
Just in case there were any issues, my parents had volunteered as a sag wagon for the early start group so were carrying spare tandem wheels and minor repair equipment along with food and water.
Starting with the 9:30am early start group, we started at the tail end of the field to ensure we did not run into anyone while getting started, and passed some riders in the opening straight.
Once onto the main road, we chose a position mid bunch with plenty of space which was required when a rider swerved directly in front of us. With the lead car neutralising the race for the first 4km or so, we sat comfortably waiting for the red flag to drop with Abbey telling me to let her know when we wanted to go up the road. Once the flag had dropped and racing had started, we picked up our pace and quickly passed all the other riders and were soon following the lead car. We kept this position all the way up Spooners Hill and beyond. At one stage we were doing about 15km/h uphill and I remarked to Abbey that the Tour de France pros would probably be doing around 40km/h on the same section as they are in a completely different league.
Once we turned right off the top of Spooners Hill Road towards Hastings and started on a gentle downhill descent, we were sitting on over 60km/h for a couple of minutes before the speed started to drop back. I glanced at the speedo again and we were holding just over 40km/h as we approached the start of the 14.2km Erewhon climb. Choosing a low gear early, we started to spin nicely up this. I glanced at the speedo about mid-climb to see we had covered about 27km in the first hour of riding. My calculations indicated that this put us on about a five hour pace for the ride, but with plenty of climbing still to come, nothing was certain.
Nearing the top of the climb, Abbey said there were two riders about 200 metres behind us. We were caught and passed on the downhill as we were taking it cautiously. However, on the next uphill, we caught them again. This cat and mouse game continued until one of the single riders was dropped and this just left us, Dave Byers and the lead car. At one stage, Dave disappeared out of sight in front us down hills but we just kept pedalling on.
Passing through the two hour mark, we had completed 50km and were part way up the 11.7km Ngamatea Station climb. Again, a good gear was used and the top was reached relatively comfortably.
By this time, the westerly wind was still light on the ground and giving some assistance in places but a great looking gliding sky with wave clouds was forming. We still had over 85km to ride and Abbey was looking forward to the downhill which she likened to a 12 knot thermal in gliding which is a great thing to have as it allows fast speeds. We recorded a top speed for the day of around 75km/h down one hill.
Riding on, I lost count of the hills but knew there was plenty of climbing to come. Changing down into the granny (smallest and easiest) gear, yet another hill was started and Abbey asked where the Gentle Annie climb was. This is the hardest climb of the ride with a 10.8% average gradient over 1.9km. I said I thought it was a few kilometres further up the road. However, as we climbed, I thought this looks and feels like the Gentle Annie so hopefully it is. Turning the final corner, I could see a sign and upon reaching it, sure enough it said Gentle Annie summit. The hardest climbing was now behind us.
After 3 hours of riding, we were just starting the 7.8km Blowhards climb and had completed about 79km with 58km to the finish line. A five hour ride time was now well on the cards. With legs starting to feel the onset of cramp, more standing climbing was used as required and the worst averted.
By the time we reached Lawrence Road, where Ramblers Cycling club races have turned around in the past, we had again caught Dave Byers on an uphill and it looked like a sub five hour ride was now a real possibility. With plenty of downhill from there, we gave our legs a rest by simply gliding down some of the hills. We were outpaced in places by Dave downhill but caught him up again once the road started to rise.
Reaching the 90km mark at about 1pm after 3hrs 30m of riding, it was evident that barring any major issues, we were going to finish considerably inside my estimated time. As such, Abbey had concern her supporters would miss us finish. About this time Dave Byers remarked he had enough of hills for the day. I told him the worst was done but there were a few more pinches to come. As we passed Crownthorpe Settlement Road, we again stood to stretch and powered up strongly so Dave had to chase.
We passed the 100km mark at around 3hrs 45m and I then figured we could not only beat five hours but perhaps even reach 4hrs 45m. Over the final hill just before Pukehamoamoa (where the ride has finished in the past), we were holding over 50km/h down the long straight. With no strong sea breeze to hinder us, we held around 36-40km/h towards the Fernhill corner when the commissaire car pulled over and said to us there were two riders chasing but they were some way back. By this time we were on “final glide” with less than five miles to ride.
With traffic stopped, we turned right at Fernhill towards Omahu Road and the finish line with Dave on our wheel. He took the lead into the long finishing straight as Abbey said we have to sprint this guy and then added, but not crash and tell me when to push it. Noticing the wind was a southerly and that there was plenty of road to the left and knowing from past experience the finish line is a lot further away than you think, we held Dave’s wheel until I thought the time was right. Then on my call, we put the hammer down from there and held it to the finish. My hope was that if I had misjudged the sprint, we would get a second chance as the tandem is so long Dave might get past Abbey but we would then have time to push harder before he passed me. With the timing tags located at the rear of the bikes, we had a disadvantage as the tandem is so long but our timing was good and we flew across the finish line as the first riders home with the results showing we had nailed the sprint by over nine seconds.
Jason Kelly & Abbey Delore (tandem) 4hrs 45m 30s
Dave Byers 4hrs 45m 40s @ 10s
Mathew Walker 4hrs 55m 15s @ 9m 45s
The official results show we recorded a time which was not even in my imagination, let alone my wildest one. The raw Strava data showed Abbey had climbed 2,629m for the ride versus just over 2,200m for me. Even a recalculation by Strava still only gave me 2,564m of climbing for the day from the front seat. Our overall finishing place of 31st matched my 2019 mechanically delayed effort. It was a stunning performance with Abbey obviously giving a Tour de France like performance as on a tandem bike, unlike in a two seat glider where the second person can just be a passenger or ballast, it is a true team effort with both riders working for the result. The result was both epic and massive as predicted although my time estimate was proven to be wildly inaccurate.
It was the most enjoyable Gentle Annie I have ever done and one that will be impossible to replicate. I would liken the result to me achieving a 3,000km glider flight which only one person in the world has ever done. Incidentally, Abbey’s father, Terry, holds the New Zealand gliding distance record of 2,502.8km.
Having now ridden in seven of the nine Gentle Annie events to date, what is my next challenge? Perhaps an Everest cycling challenge (8,848m of climbing in one ride) or even a 1,000km+ glider flight? Abbey has her sights on the 2021 Coast to Coast two day event and also a non-stop Bluff to Kaitaia, i.e. length of New Zealand, glider flight with her father. She absolutely would do the Gentle Annie again and maybe attempt it on her own trying to stay on my back wheel. She also has a squad of interested people that would give it a go under my mentorship.
