Hi
Had a few great performances on my Zinn lately. This bike has definitely helped me to another level.
Tuesday night racing
Since getting my Zinn at the end November – I’ve been getting better and better results. It’s one of those success breeds success stories. The thing is an absolute joy to ride and I look forward to every time on it. I’ve had time to get used to the 210mm cranks and it’s meant an amazing jump in performance for me. Which has made me want to ride more – which has started off a nice little vicious circle! Six months ago I was a pretty average club rider – riding in Break 3 – but no longer.
So I figured I’d have a crack at the 154km Taranaki Cycle Challenge on the 30th of Jan.
The form had been good – putting in some good long rides with the club – where I felt strong. And I knew that Taranaki’s profile would suit my 123kgs a bit better than most. It’s a relatively flat ride round Mount Taranaki which is a large volcano on the North Island of New Zealand. There were hills – but they were more of the rolling hill farming country type rather than the long steep variety. So I figured – what the hell – I’ll line up on the start in the front group and see what happens.
Was pretty nervous as I’d never tried to ride with the fastest guys before on any ride (nor been capable of it).
Went amazingly well and I finished where I was pretty much the whole day – at the back of the leading pack. Stopped the clock in 3hrs 53mins for the 154kms (around 97 miles) only 30secs behind the winner. Was a very happy man!
Bolstered by that success – I lined up a week later on the start of the Wanganui to Palmerston North ride. This one was shorter at 95kms – but it had a few significant hills at the start – and was flat after that. I tried to hang with the weight weenies through those hills – but couldn’t keep up with the little buggers – and got dropped on the last climb. But a group of us got together, got organised and worked very hard – and caught the leading bunch! Took us about 20kms to do it – and was a hugely satisfying effort. I can report that they were none too pleased to see us.
Still feeling good coming into the finish – I thought “nothing ventured – nothing gained” – and had a crack at winning – by jumping away with about 800 meters to go. I got a good jump and with 200m to go I was still leading – but alas – they rolled me and I ended up 9th. A top 10 finish!!!! Wow! Did this in 2hrs 23!
So – an amazing couple of weeks for me – and all facilitated by an amazing bike!
Below are a few shots of our Tuesday night racing from this week. (It’s a hot summer here at the moment)
Be nice if there were someone my size to draft behind!
At least I can see up the road when I’m not on the front 🙂
Onwards and upwards!
Cheers
Adrian McKenzie
