Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 2015
What is the best thing about November? Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge of course! This is New Zealands biggest cycling event, with close to 10,000 people taking part every year. I remember my first in 2003, and if memory serves me right, I have only ever missed one LTCC since then, which would make 2015 my 12th LTCC, and the 10th on a unicycle (I have ridden the two-lap 320km enduro twice, on a bike). The best thing about Taupo is atmosphere- with so many people out there riding and enjoying the views around the Lake, there is always someone to chat to.
My partner Anna was doing her 2nd LTCC, but this time she would be doing the 80km solo challenge. Last year she had ridden the first 2 legs of last years LTCC as part of a relay team, but this was the first time the LTCC organisers have had a 80km category, comprising the second half of the circuit. She was super excited about being able to cross the finish line,especially with another year of riding experience. Her friend Martha was visiting from Italy and also doing the 80km challenge on a mountainbike.
We arrived in Taupo on Friday a bit later than expected, but thankfully still in time to get registered and drop the bike off (it has to be placed on a truck to be taken to the 80km start). Anna would carry her unicycle onto the bus in the morning- the advantage of a compact unicycle. We were staying at Warren Ellery’s place- Taupo unicyclist and upholsteror extraordinaire.. Anna was drooling over Warrens collection of sewing machines. Unfortunately he was away this weekend, but generously donated the use of his house for our LTCC base.
After stocking up on some last minute supplies, Anna and Martha cooked up pasta to load up with carbs, whilst I settled for meat pies (hey- you can eat anything you like if you’re going to ride 160km the next day!).
We got up early to get Anna and Martha to the start line. Chocolate nutty porridge for breakfast is a perfect way to fuel up!
No 6am start like last year- Anna and Martha would be bused to the the 80km transition to ride from there. I dropped them off then came back to set up my unicycle. This would be the first time in many years that I had gone back to the 36″ ungeared unicycle- the original wheel I set my 2004 record on.
The setup was:
KH 36 Frame
36″ Airfoil rim laced to UDC hub
Wheel TA tyre (an oldie but a goodie!)
Regular 36″ tube
Wellgo MG1 pedals
Flatfish saddle with KH T-Bar
114mm quax cranks
It was nice to be on a solid, ungeared 36″ again, although I had originally planned to build a lighter 36″ using updated components. Unfortunately there is a limited supply of 36″ rims in the country so it will have to wait till next year!
Anna was riding her 26″/110mm unicycle with very large Maxxis Hookworm tyre- one of my favourites. She hadn’t had any experience on bigger wheels so elected to take her trusty 26″.
I got to the start line to line up with the Group 8’s (7-8.30hr groups) for the 9am start. It was a smaller field than I expected- which I put down to the earlier start for slower group 9s (6am), which allows them plenty of time to arrive at the finish line.
3-2-1 go!!!
I set off down the hill in light drizzle. It’s a familiar start and something I always look forward to, because after a short downhill, it is a long climb with a slope perfect for a unicycle. By the time I reached the top of the hill, I’d passed all the riders in my start group. We yo-yo’ed back and forth for the next 160km with riders passing me on the downhills and me catching them on the climbs. My legs felt good but I don’t do humidity well- it was drizzling but also very warm. I managed to keep a 20km/hr average, so on track for an 8hr round taupo.
The rain cleared and it was a beautiful day. The supporters were out in force, with lots of people on the side of the roads cheering people on. By the time I hit the 80km mark, I knew Anna and Martha would have gotten off to a good start. I had several almond gold slabs to munch on, but I was wishing I had brought a few more savoury snacks. I got over Kuratau Hill- one of my favourite climbs, and it was mostly downhill from there.
According to my calculations- if Anna was doing struggling I would catch her as we rounded the lake, or after Hatepe Hill if she was doing great! In fact, I didn’t see her at all as I made the final turn into Taupo. At that point I bonked and had to down 3 almond slabs in succession, just to get through the final 10km.
I rolled into Taupo in 8hrs 11min 21s, quite a bit slower than my 2004 record, but still respectable (I did 8hrs 20min in 2003). Anna had gone under 7hrs, with a time of 6hrs 58min 15s. An astounding effort, considering she rode a 26″/110mm unicycle a whole 80km! Martha finished in just over 5hrs, wishing she had done the full 160km race.
It was a great weekend of riding and we are looking forward to next years (40th anniversary) event!
New 100 mile unicycle world record!
Congratulations to Sam Wakeling (UK), we have a new 100 mile world record!
Sam unicycled 100 miles in 6hrs 18min 13s at the Croft Circuit race track, in Darlington, UK. The previous record of 6hrs 44min 22s was set in 1987 by Takayuki Koike (Japan).
Read about Sam’s world record attempt here: http://100.samwakeling.com/ and on the unicyclist.com forums
Sam rode a geared Schlumpf 36″ Unicycle with 145mm cranks.
Roger Davies was making a simultaneous 100 mile record attempt at the same circuit, on an ungeared 36″ unicycle. Unfortunately, after being ahead of the previous record mark, Roger had to abandon his attempt. Hopefully we’ll see another ungeared record attempt from Roger in future!
Please support their charity, Water Aid. They have raised over £500 so far.
Sam Wakeling and Roger Davies attempt the 100 mile world record: 9 July 2015, UK
The 100 mile record has stood for over a quarter century, and is one of the toughest records in unicycling. It has had several attempts on it since Takayuki Koike (Japan) set the record in 1987, and still stands at 6hrs44min22s.
On the 9 July, Sam Wakeling and Roger Davies will be attempting the world record. Sam will be riding a geared 36″, while Roger will be attempting the record on an ungeared 36″.
Check out their website for updates: http://100.samwakeling.com/
And the RSU discussion
Good luck guys!
More unipal albums
Here are some pics from Stefan Carpentier:
http://go-run-a-mountain.smugmug.com/2015/20150427UNIPalshort/
Unipal: Day 12 Pokhara
The extended tour flew out of Pokhara early in the morning, while most of us were still asleep. For those who stayed, Pokhara is a great place for picking up last minute shopping, enjoying the lake views, good food, and walking along the lake shore. We had transferred to another hotel which, whilst not as flash as the one we had stayed in, was on the waterfront and had beautiful views across Lake Phewa, with buffalos in foreground.
Anna and I hired a boat and paddled out on the Lake with a very small paddle!
The next morning our group of Italians- Natascia, Nicola, Gaetano, Margherita, as well as Anna hike up the hill to watch the sunrise. It took much longer than expected but they made it back to the hotel just in nick of time for breakfast.
After packing, we would be flying to Kathmandu to spend a few hours with the Joshi family before heading back to New Zealand.
Unipal: Day 11 Tal to Pokhara
We were told we could ‘ride as much as we liked’ today. It was 30km to the start of the jeep trail, where we had lunch on our very first day. The idea was that we would leave a couple of hours before the Jeeps, which would pick us up one by one as they caught us. If we rode fast enough, we could make it all the way to the end without pick up. That was enough motivation for many, just to avoid repeating the not so memorable bouncy jeep ride.
The trail meandered through steep cliffs along a river, which offered some incredible scenery. It was very rough riding, with big rocks and ruts to plough our way through. Most of us were picked up along the way, when we’d had enough riding. Corbin, Scott and Tomas were the only riders to complete the ride, meeting us at the finish.
After lunch, we would say our goodbyes to Sean and Antoine, who were heading to Kathmandu, whilst the rest of us would transfer to Pokhara. It was a fun journey, with our vehicle alternately playing Nepalese folk music, Britney Spears, and some random pop music, whilst we sped through the countryside.
When we arrived at Lake Phewa in Pokhara, we were taken to a boat ramp and ferried across to an island. It turned out that Nicola and Natascia were getting married, Nepalese style, at the island temple. It was one of the fastest wedding ceremonies on record, as it was getting dark and we had to get back to shore!
After a hot shower at one of the fanciest hotels on tour, we proceeded to finish our celebrations at a local restaurant. It was time for more farewells. We said goodbye to our guides, Ankit and Dawa, as well as the group who would be leaving on the extended tour with Blair. They would fly out to Jomsom the next morning, where their tour would have finished had we managed to get over Thorung La pass.
For Jason Williams, it may be his last unicycle tour as our tour leader, after selling Grasshopper Adventures to his business partner last year. It has been an incredible partnership over the last decade: it included The Laos Unitour 2006, Uninam 2008, Induni 2009, Monguni 2010, Yunnanuni 2011, Unistan 2013 and now Unipal 2015. We have had 7 successful unicycle tours thanks to my chance meeting with Jason back in 2004 (Vietnam to Cambodia), when I joined his OXFAM charity cycle challenge on a unicycle. We wish you all the best and hope you can join us on a future tour (as a rider)!
Unipal: Day 10 Chame to Tal
It would be another tough day or riding, without any of our scheduled rest days, as we had to head to Tal, which was slightly beyond our starting point of Bagarchap. However, being downhill, it was also incredibly fun. We had lunch at our first guesthouse in Bagarchap- then followed the river all the way to Tal. There was a large swingbridge to cross, followed by an incredible sets of rock steps carved into the side of the cliff.
We arrived in Tal, which is a village in a secluded little valley by the river. It was time to say goodbye to our Porters and their leader Mingma Sherpa. They had been an incredible team, never complaining whilst each carrying 30kg of gear, not to mention evacuating Bruce in the middle of the night during a snowstorm.
It was Nepalese New Year, and the locals in the village partied well into the night, with loud music that resonated through the whole valley.
Unipal: Day 9 Manang to Chame
It would be mostly downhill today, but we were heading straight to Chame, which was two villages prior to Manang on the way up. Because of this, we got up extra early for a 6.30am start.
It was a beautiful ride with much of the hillsides covered in snow, quite different to how they looked on the way up. We had lunch in Pisang, where we stayed a few days previously, and then continued downhill. There was a massive landslide in the middle of the track, with large bulldozers at work clearing the fallen trees. They allowed our group to proceed over the slippery logs, but it was not was no easy feat with dozens of fallen trees and unstable rock underfoot.
When we got in to Chame, we had hot food, and for many of us, hot showers for the first time in 3 days. Bliss!
Bruce had been discharged from the local clinic and looked very bright considering his medical emergency only a couple days prior.