ECNZ 2010 – Day 14 –Waianakarua to Balclutha

ECNZ 2010 – Day 14 –Waianakarua to Balclutha

15mins to dinner so this is going to be quick.

A bit of sting in the tail of Epic.

First 50km was friendly riding – nice

Then an awesome stretch off the main highway via Karitane, some tough climbs and lovely views. Along with that the scariest moment of the camp. We were dealing with quite a few rail crossing then on a full speed descent coming around blind corner we hit a 25m stretch of shingle all the way across the road. I was behind Jo and Gordo who went in opposite directions trying to stay upright and I ended up just hitting the grass. Credit to everyone that they stayed upright – I made a quick U turn and warned all the others coming down.

Next up was the KOM over to Port Chalmers. Gordo put the first surge in then told me to take it – we were only a minute or two into a long climb so whist I went past I knew there was plenty of work left. A few more attacks and then Clas and I were away, I was working pretty close to max intensity and thankfully I could hear Clas breathing a little so at least I was giving him a bit of a workout. He told me about 500m to go that he wouldn’t come around me so a bit of a hollow victory for me.

We then came through Dunedin and got on another brilliant coastal ride. The final stretch of the coast road from Taieri River Mouth to Waihola was the toughest climbing of the camp without a doubt. The staircase climb was unrelenting and very very steep. We were very fortunate to have a tail wind here and for the ride into Balclutha. A long day in the saddle with around 2200m in elevation gains.

I made the call mid ride that we would cancel the planned the Aquathon in the Harbour at Dunedin. It was a cold day, the water was 14c and probably around 1/3 the camp are coming down with sickness. There was only one slight complaint, everyone seems pretty smoked tonight. That meant when I got off the bike I had to get to the pool to swim 200m and run 7km to ensure I met camp completion totals tomorrow.

Last day tomorrow. Looking forward to getting it dusted and getting home to be with the family. My poor wife has had to deal with 2 kids (9mths and 2.5yrs) for the last 3 weeks so it’s payback time in a big way

Summary

Swim 400m

Bike 188km

Run 7km