The Rice Mountain Classic
>> Wednesday 23 December 2009
Last year I had been planning to do this race but decided not to, as I hadn’t done much training on the road. This year I was doing a lot more road riding than mountain biking, as I am aiming for the Junior Track Nationals in March, rather than Karapoti (sadly they are on at the same time so I had to choose one or the other). Track and road are complimentary so I have been training on the track, the turbo trainer and the road bike. The Rice Mountain Classic was a good aim for halfway through the season. 
As part of my build up I took part in the PNP Horokiwi Hill Climb on 15 December. It was warm and calm, perfect conditions. The only problem was that it was a hill, and a very steep one at that. I couldn’t believe how slowly the kilometres ticked by but I somehow ended up at the top of the hill in a time of 24:15, even if I was wheezing and shaking. Jony completed his climb in 25:17, so I was happy to get one over him, especially on hills! It was good training. There were 28 people there, although there was a distinct lack of Bushlove shirts. Maybe they only come out for the mountain biking.
On 19 December we got to Gladstone early and drove around the C course. It looked challenging, but well within my ability. The hills didn’t look too steep and it looked as though there were only two. Oh how looks can be deceiving. The weather around Gladstone was OK: fine, but a bit windy, with a brisk north-westerly, which meant a tailwind for the final climb up Admirals Road.
We got back to Gladstone Hall and did a small warm-up while the A and B grades started their epic-length races (still no Bushlove jerseys, where have they all gone?). Waiting is always the worst bit of the whole race in my mind. Finally my group started, and the race was under way. We worked in a pace line for a bit, but I was struggling to keep up. The others were all sitting up and looking relaxed, but I was spinning flat out and breathing hard and doing everything I could just to keep up. Naturally, I got dropped and so began the long lonely and hard race. 
In the car it looked like two hills, on the bike, there were too many to count. At some point (I was too tired to remember where) the B grade men passed me, thank you to those who shouted “Go Hannah!” or something like that. The race wore on and the kilometres ticked by. I got chased by a scary dog, I slugged up some gruelling hills that I could have walked up faster, and I got passed by all the groups.
By the time I got to Admirals I was practically dead. The climb wasn’t exactly easy and it was sooooooooooooooo long! Thank you to Cameron Wood who encouraged me on the last bit of Admirals, I really needed it. Well done to my little brother Jony who was literally half the size of most people there, but finished the 60km one minute and two seconds faster than me (Grrr). I was very proud of him, and he was pleased to have got revenge for his defeat at Horokiwi. 
It was one of those races where I was glad I had done it but I was really happy it was over. Thanks to the Bike Barn Boys for fixing my bike so many times in one week, I ended up going to see them every day. Also, thanks to Shane from Penny Farthing for fine-tuning the set up of my bike. Special thanks also to Malcolm Allen and his dedicated team of volunteers who made a great race happen; 
and lastly an acknowledgement to Alan Rice (currently PNP Treasurer) for whom the race is named - his decades of racing and volunteering have helped make the PNP club what it is. It's hard to imagine being at a race without seeing Alan and club mascot Walter.
