PNP Club MTB Champs - 21 March 2010

Just as it was last year, the PNP Club MTB Champs took place in the Wainuiomata Trail Park.


The day before I rode with the MTB Chicks group in the same park. This was really good because I could get used to the feel of the tracks and I got a chance to ride the brand new Snail Trail before race day. Snail Trail is a really cool track, great fun to ride so well done to everyone who put in lots of effort to get it built.


The morning of the race came and we got to Wainuiomata High School (where registration was) with plenty of time to spare. I double checked the race description, rode around for a bit and made the really important pre-race decisions like arm warmers or no arm warmers?

The start came soon enough, D-graders left first. We went up the huge Konini Firebreak 4WD to the top. That was slow and hard as usual. Then we descended Labyrinth, and onto Snail Trail. The descent was fun; the bush in there is really beautiful. When we got to the bottom we then had to do two laps of the Wetland Loop. I was quite pleased with myself for being able to ride the drop off on Beeline both times around. I got back into the school with a time of 01:13, something I was pleased with.

The race was really fun and it was organised brilliantly. Huge thanks to Marco and the team. It was a shame that so few riders turned up. Recently there have been so many events on it has been hard to choose what to enter. On the same day as this event was the Oceania MTB Champs down in Dunedin, so lots of riders were there.
In a race with 60 riders all three of the female categories had only one rider in each, plus there was a girl in the Under 13 category, making a showing of only four female riders in total.

This event was particularly important for the Juniors as it was also the College Sport Wellington MTB Champs. I now have the title of Under 19 Girls Champion for the second year in a row, though it wasn’t very hard to get this year with no one to race against. Slightly disappointing, because I'd come well prepared to defend my title with a new bike - many thanks to Andrew Robertson for the gift of a Giant XTC frame, and to the Bike Barn workshop guys who transferred all my componentry across from the Kona Lisa. Other than the small turnout the day went really well and I am glad to have been there.

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Big Coast 2010

Last year Dad had marshalled for this event and enjoyed it so much that this year the whole family was involved (except my older sister Deb, she was organising a Runathon team to raise money for World Vision). Dad and I were a riding marshal pair, Mum and Marti were helping out transporting luggage, doing registration, setting up camp and being genuinely helpful, and Jony was riding in the event. I had returned from Track Nationals the Sunday before, and had not ridden a mountain bike for a couple of months at least, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to go.


An hour before the riders started all the marshals departed to their posts. Marjolein Ros (the head marshal) would drop us off where we needed to be and explain what we needed to do. The riding was pretty easy, from Tunnel Gully we went over the Rimutaka Incline (there was a morning tea stop at the summit) and then down to Cross Creek (where Dad and I were), then through the farm and onto the sealed road for about 5 minutes to lunch, then along the seal to camp. 47km. The day went smoothly and a good time was had by all.

At the campsite there was live music and even showers! When we turned up to the main area to wait for dinner all the tables were taken so we went and sat on the ground next to were the food was going to be served. This worked out very well as when dinner was served we were second a line of around 400. Better yet, all the tables were now empty, so we could sit and enjoy.

The next morning we were up bright and early so that we could get to our places before the riders. Today’s course was much more challenging, with two big rock slides than had to be climbed over, and a few sandy places, along with the fact that there was a strong headwind for lots of it. After 3 hours riding I arrived at my post, exhausted. Sitting at the top of a hill, being nice to people and handing out lollies for 4 hours was much harder than you would think. When the tail-end-Charlie came through at last and I was relieved from my post I still had one hour’s left of riding to go. I was really relieved when I did get back and was amazingly pleased to receive a free sausage and a drink, along with the chips in our car. Eight hours is a long time to be out and about in the sun and wind, so I was totally exhausted, and not looking forward to school the next day, where I had four NCEA assessments in the coming week.



The event went really well and I was glad to have taken part and helped out – full credit to Duncan and Zoe for their great organisation; Marjolein was a very supportive and inspiring Chief Marshal; the AREC Upper Hutt radio communication guys were very interesting company at the check points; and the participants who came and rode the 100km over the Rimutaka Incline and around the rugged South Coast all deserve a big round of applause! It was kind of nice to be back on the mountain bike, although I still love the velodrome more. I hope to be there marshalling again next year and I recommend the event to all.

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Track Nationals (Age Grade) 2010

This year the Track Nationals were the BIG Event of my year. Near the end of last year I had to make the big decision: Karapoti or Track Nationals. These two big events were on the same week, and all the training would be very different, so I couldn’t do both. Obviously I chose to go to Track Nationals.

So February 28 and I was up at the crack of dawn ready to be at the airport by 6:50. At the airport we all met up and got our team t-shirts. We stopped off in Christchurch on the way to Invercargill. Invercargill Airport was nice but very small. We met Barry and Gary who had driven down in the van a few days earlier. We had to do a couple of trips to the motel where we were staying, due to limited seating in the van. The motel was lovely, if for any reason you are in Invercargill I recommend Yarrow Motel to you.

That afternoon we had our first ride on the wooden velodrome. How can I describe it? It feels like you’re flying. To anyone who has never ridden on an indoor velodrome, I recommend you do. It is very cool. We spent the first 15/20 minutes just riding around, getting used to the steeper banking, and 250m track, much smaller than our 333m track. After that we did some sprints and I attempted some flying 200m sprints. We were getting ready to leave when Alison Shanks, world pursuit champion, turned up to do some training on the track. I watched her perfect, constant technique, it was no wonder she’s the world champ. After she came off and was sitting down, some of the others and I went over and got her autograph. She was really nice and friendly.
The next day we went back to the track for a couple of hours. This time we got to try out the starting gates, which are electronic holders that are used for time trials, to make sure that you are released exactly on time. At this level, medals and titles are won by less than tenths of a second.

On that day I also got a really good feel of the track. Literally. I had my first crash, due partially to going too slow on the wood and partially due to a technical error, I came sliding down the velodrome. Some of you will know that often when you are crashing you have very strange thoughts (or am I just weird?), well mine was “gosh I’m sliding fast!” When I reached the bottom I picked myself up and noticed a large hole in my shorts and a graze on my elbow, other than that I was fine, although a bit shaken. Most importantly my bike was fine. I took the rest of the day easy.

Tuesday, the day before it would all begin. I was mostly working on trying to get my flying 200m sprint line right (that’s a sprint were you dive off the banking after going around for a couple of laps, you are timed for the final 200m). I finally got it good enough that Lee Evans (assistant manager) was satisfied.

Wednesday. The day it started. Second on the program was the Under 17 Girls 200m sprint, my event. I was terrified. My goal was to get in the low 15 seconds range. I watched in horror as the girls before me got mostly 13s with the odd 12 or 14. Then it was my turn. My line was good, just the way we had practiced it. I came around after the sprint and looked up to the score board to see I had got a 14.545, definitely a tail ender, but I had done better than I thought, so I was pleased with that.

The next day I had my 2km pursuits. My aim was to get under the 3 minute mark. Having a 03:18 personal best in Wellington it was never going to be easy. I was obviously very nervous. Finally it was my turn. I’m not really sure what was going through my head but I think it was something like; keep breathing Hannah! Keep going! Come on! I tell you now I have never heard a prettier sound than the sound of the gun when I finished. I came around to the other straight and looked up at the score board, not knowing what to expect. 02:59. I had done it, just, I had still gotten lapped and was still at the bottom of the list, but I had achieved my personal goal, and so I was pleased with that, even if all I could say to a smiling coach was a grunt.

My next event was the 500m time trial. This was an event I didn’t really know what I’d get and I had no real goal. So when I got a 44 second time I was pretty happy.

Up till now all my races had been individual efforts, I had been right at the back of the field for all of them, but not by much and so I wasn’t sure how I’d cope in the bunch races. That evening was my 8km Points Race. Points Races are particularly hard because every so many laps there is a set sprint, so for those of us who are struggling to keep up anyway, the going gets tough.

We all went up to the fence and did one lap rolling start. The gun sounded and the race was on. An early attack saw the bunch spread into a long snaky line. I got dropped, along with a girl from Canterbury and a girl from Waikato. We worked together until the bunch came around to lap us. I jumped into the bunch and did all I could to stay there. It gets a bit scary when you’re riding at over 40km per hour, with 16 girls all trying get into a good tactical position. I kept up through all the other sprints and managed to stay with the bunch for the rest of the race. Better yet, I didn’t come last when we did finally finish. I was very pleased with my racing and was looking forward to the next night’s 5km Scratch race.

Saturday morning: the last day of racing. The evening session came; my race was third on the list. My tactic for this race was to find a good rider and stick to her wheel like glue. That rider came in the form of Cassie Cameron, from the West Coast North Island. She had been placing highly in most of the other events so when I saw her wheel I jumped onto it immediately. I stayed in the bunch for the whole race, something I was very proud of, and I was sticking to a front ender I ended up at the very front a couple of times myself. Inside the bunch there was non-stop action and movement, but to the outside viewer I’m not sure that much happened. When the bell did ring the sprint for the finish line had already begun and was in full swing. As a tail ender I couldn’t see exactly what happened at the front (I was focused on trying to pass more people and make it to the finish line before I collapsed) but Alysha Keith of Otago came 1st and Cassie Cameron got 5th.

So the 2010 National Age Grade Track Cycling Championships had come to a close. It was a beautiful night so some of us walked home in the dark. Back at the motel we had a mini party before bed to celebrate everything that we had achieved as a team and as individuals. Over the four days of competition Wellington centre had earned 6 medals. Eleanor Pepperell got bronze in the 500m Sprint, Mark Coburn got bronze in the Masters 1 Scratch race, Gary Humpherson of Masters 3 got bronze in the Scratch Race and silver in the Pursuit, and Gabriella Peach and Beth Balmer got bronze in their Under 19 Team Sprint. We also had many Wellington riders getting through to finals, or to the next round in their events. We came to Invercargill as one of the weakest and smallest centres, yet we have left our mark: Wellington is now a fully functional competitive centre.

I learnt a lot of thing at Nationals, including how to ride on rollers, and I managed to touch my toes. The race experience is something that is incredibly valuable and cannot be gained any other way than by racing at a high level. I owe so much to my parents for supporting me, helping me and making my cycling possible. I am also grateful to my sponsor Bike Barn Wellington and to Barry Johnson for giving up his time to come down and be our manager, and Craig Peach for being the handler and mechanic. To Gary Gibson I owe so much for teaching me so much and being an amazing coach. I had an amazing time at Nationals and achieved lots of personal goals. I am looking forward to next year.

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River City Wheel race Carnival Spectacular (Wanganui)

This carnival was one of the important build up events to nationals. It was particularly important because it was the last major event before nationals. Another important thing was that the Wanganui Velodrome, being wood and 250m around each lap, is about as close as you can get to the Invercargill Velodrome, where the nationals are being held.

So Sunday morning Jony and I rode down to the bike shed at 9:30, ready for a 10:00 departure. We loaded the cars with bikes and bags, tools and aero bars. Peter Reynolds turned up on his mountain bike to say ‘Hi’, and he came at the perfect time, just as I was handing out the chocolate brownie.

At 10:00 exactly we were getting in the cars and about 2½ hours later we were in Wanganui. At the velodrome our Wellington team of about twenty found a spot to put up our two large tents for shade on the scorcher of a day. We went to register and got given a little pot of Resene sunscreen. I guess they wanted to make sure we all painted on the sun cream, and didn’t get burnt. A good idea actually.



So after warming up it was time to get the racing underway. My first race was the 10 lap Under 17 Scratch Race. The Under 17 field was huge; there must have been 20-odd riders in it. There were only 3 girls, including me, so we had to do the hard miles with the fast boys-really fast boys looking for top placings at nationals. So, the 10 lap scratch race started and after a few laps I was in a mini-bunch with the two Wanganui girls. The final lap came sooner than I thought, being used to a 333m track the 250m laps went quite fast. At the finish line I put on a big sprint and I beat one of the girls on the line. I’m not sure what happened to the other girl, we must have dropped her because at the finish she had mysteriously disappeared. A rather successful race from my point of view.


The next race was the Under 15 and 17 combined Miss & Out race. Due to the large field in both grades they decided to give us both separate races. I must have misunderstood something because I thought that the race managers said one neutral lap, one race lap, then the next lap they would start the eliminations. We did the neutral lap and then the next lap they called me out. Although I wouldn’t necessarily have placed by the finish, it was still annoying, and was annoyed with myself for not getting myself in the right position.

After that we had the sprint qualifying, but when we went to get in line, it was only the top people from the scratch that were allowed to do it, so we didn’t even get a shot at it. Having so many more riders than we do in Wellington, they have to be selective or they would never get through all of the planned races.

The 6 lap handicap was next, I had a good start but I slowed down a bit to let the other girl who had been on the same mark as me catch up so we could work together because I knew I had no chance by myself. Dumb choice, she went past me and then it was me who had to worry, soon after all the crazy fast boys were whizzing past, but I did manage to pip one on the line, in a final, desperate sprint not to come last.

Out came the motorbike and it was time for the Kierens. I was put in a heat with the open women, being the only Under 17 girl who was keen to do a Kieren. I got on the back of the bike in third position and was doing fine, until the motorbike got faster, and faster, and faster until it was a bit too much. It dropped me with about half a lap to go until it pulled off. I time trialled the rest of the way home, not a fabulous race, but then again I was racing with the Open Women.


The last event of the day was the team sprint. Beth Balmer and I took to the track in an attempt to beat our fast and furious Under 15 girls from Wellington, Ione Johnson and Ellie Pepperell. I did the first lap and had a bit of a slow start, and somehow the other two beat us.

The ride back home to Wellington held lots of excitement. Whe stopped in Bulls to get something “eat-a-bull” for dinner, Kebabs that made us “full-as-a-bull”. Standing outside the Kebab shop we got to see a car crash, I’m not sure exactly what happened but there was lots of screeching and when I turned around there was a door lying on the road, and two smashed up cars with there noses together. I don’t think anyone was hurt and the Fire Brigade arrived before we left.

But the drama didn’t end there, as we were going along the motorway we saw the Titahi Bay fires, a scary sight, the whole side of the hill was ablaze! I was glad we weren’t going the other way because the traffic going the other way on the motorway was terrible. While in the car we also found out about the Wellington Phoenix’s amazing victory that got them through to the semi-finals of the Australian A-league. When we got home we were tired but happy after a good day of racing in the sun.

For making this day a successful one, thanks to:
- Alex Laplanche who always makes his van available to carry PNP riders and their rides to events around the country;
- Bike Barn workshop (again!!) for sorting out my stem problem so quickly;
- Wanganui Cycling; they are so friendly and hospitable, well organised and equipped, and they're happy to share their great track with us.

So this Sunday I’m off to Invercargill to race at the Track Nationals. I’ll have to make sure that I am really careful not to get blocked in, and that I try my absolute hardest. When I come back, no matter what my results are, I want to be able to say I had no regrets; I went as hard as I could given the training I have done. To say that I’m nervous would be a massive understatement, so wish me and the rest of the Wellington team luck; I think I might need it!

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Wellington Centre Track Champs

The Wellington Track Champs was one of the major events in my lead-up to Nationals. The weekend of the Champs came and it was raining. Hard. Saturday it was raining all day, so we couldn’t race. Sunday it rained in the morning, but we got some pursuits and 500 ITT’s in before it was home time.

The next Tuesday night we were at it again. We re-did some of the pursuits and I got a PB, 3:18 for my 2km pursuit. We also did an Under 17 8km points race, as the only under 17 girl there I was racing against the boys, Conner Johnson, Alex Dent, Lewis Taka and James Truebridge. In classic James style he took off at the first sprint and lapped the field twice. Somehow I ended up being half a lap in front of the others (James not included) with 2km to go. I time trailed my way into second place, although that doesn’t show on the results as I was racing in a category of my own. Nonetheless a pleasing result.

The Tuesday after that we had the sprint finals. I was still racing with the Under 17 boys but in my own category. Due to the lack of female competitors I get another gold certificate for that effort even though the boys all beat me. Next we did some team sprints: for my first one I stood in with the under 15 girls, racing with my 10 year old sister Marti, against Ione Johnson and Elle Pepperell; naturally the other two beat us. In my second team sprint I raced with the under 19 girls. I (the weakest) was put with Gabi Peach (the strongest) against Beth Balmer and Laura Burke. In a close match my team managed to pull back the win, and that concluded my races for the night.


Last week of the champs and it was time for the scratch races. The women and the Under 17 5km scratch race was combined to save time. True to form Truebridge was away before you could even stand up, leaving the rest of us to battle it out for the other placings, although there were actually three races going on in one. Same as the rest of the champs, I was the only under 17 girl competing. The last lap came suddenly and the two women had a big sprint, I tried to keep up with their fast pace but couldn’t quite, but still got first place under 17 girls (very hard as you can imagine with such a big field of, well, one).

Also of note, I was very proud of Jonathan, my brother who placed in all his races except one, in the Under 15 category. Marti (sister) was also doing well. Although not placing she did very well for a ten year old racing against 13 and 14 year olds, showing great determination.

Rachel Anderson did an amazing job at keeping the races ticking over and organising the whole thing. A big thanks to all the volunteers who helped out, and to Gary Gibson for being such a committed and amazing couch, big thanks to Mum and Dad for everything.

Overall a brilliant event, even if the weather wasn’t on our side for the scheduled weekend!

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Canterbury Summer Track Carnival

Late in December, Dad was stumbling around on Vorb where he came across a poster for the Canterbury Summer Track Carnival on 5-6 January. We already had plans to spend the week after that in Picton, which meant missing the PNP Screaming Hot Carnival, so it was a good chance to make up for that. A quick scan of Air New Zealand’s Grab-a-Seat page found me some cheap transport, and a phonecall to my grandparents in Christchurch found me a bed.

I went down to Christchurch not really knowing what to expect. I knew that Canterbury is one of the top centres for track cycling, and I knew that the velodrome was 400m around and that was about it. The day before the racing started, Hamish Ferguson, the coach down there kindly offered to let me do a bit of riding on the track, and to come down and help me.

The Hornby velodrome was very smooth with no bumps at all. The 400m track was so long, every lap goes on forever! I did some standing starts, some sprints, and some motor pacing behind the motorbike with Hamish. It was brilliant to be able to experience what the velodrome felt like before racing on it. I also met Syd Martin, Canterbury Track Chairman, who was there for a while. I was told a list of names to look out for, and I was getting a bit worried when every girl seemed to be a national champ for this or that, and another one is a time trail road champion. Slightly nerve-wracking . . .

The next evening we turned up for racing. I was amazed by the huge number of participants, but even more so by the spectators. Every seat in the grand stand was taken, and more people stood to watch. The whole A grade was made up of world champions and New Zealand champions. There were also some top women, a four time Olympian and a New Zealand Champion.

As much as I would have liked to sit and watch everyone else I did have to get up and ride myself, so I lined up with the other girls to race. Most of the races for us on both nights were scratch races, with one Devil Take the Hindmost, and a couple of Handicaps thrown in. The longest race was 3000m and the shortest was 800m.

Unfortunately due to my slackness I still had my Under 15 gear on, giving me a small roll-out. As of the 1st of January I am Under 17 so this was a disadvantage.

The pace was hard but I managed to keep up with the girls despite my tiny gear. I got dropped in most of the mixed boy/girl races but I only came last in one. That is a result I was relatively pleased with given that I was racing some of the top young athletes in the country. I was at the rear of the girls races but didn’t come last in any of those either.





It was a really good experience and great practice for Nationals in March. The Cantabrians were all very friendly and nice - so I have to forgive them for spelling my last name without an E. A couple of weeks later I received a very kind gift from Syd Martin and the team, a pair of bib shorts, something that my wardrobe was previously lacking. Thank you very much, they fit perfectly. Hopefully I can ride to victory in them in Invercargill!

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