Traction Fitness 400 Cycle Tour
During Labour Weekend Jenny Rose of Traction Fitness in Wellington held a three day cycling training camp for her Triathlon trainees in the Marlborough and Nelson region and covered 400km over the three days.
Sue Hoskin, a Bike Manawatu member was fortunate to be part of this group for the weekend.
Sue and partner Philip Wilson also a Bike Manawatu member travelled to Wellington on the Friday afternoon and met up with 27 other cyclists to catch the ferry to Picton.
Arriving in Picton the support car, van and trailer were unloaded of bikes and personal bags at our accommodation ready for a 7 am start to the cycling day on Saturday.
The first group set off at 7am heading for St Arnard a distance of 128 km mostly all up hill and what turned out to be a steady head wind, a challenging day for most.
With two of us as drivers and support people our role was to pack all the personal gear into the trailer tidy accommodation on departure each morning and general mechanical repairs to bikes when need be.
Day two, Sunday the riders left St Arnard for Mapua a distance of 130 km, with the first group again leaving around 7.15 am. Sue Hoskin was part of the early group and after a hill at the beginning, the ride dropped down into the lovely Motueka Valley road on a brilliantly fine day with a slight tail breeze.
After arriving at Motueka for a very late lunch the brave and hardy riders went to take on the Takaka Hill. Sue was sensible enough not to take on that challenge knowing she still had another 142 km to ride on the final day.
Monday morning dawned a cloudy morning however the forecast was for the cloud cover to clear and no rain or wind in that forecast.
This final day was going to be a challenge for many especially for those who had ridden the Takaka Hill. The challenge was going to be the Whangamoa hill at the 50 km mark, then into the Rai saddle at 63 km. A lunch stop was at the Pelorus Bridge café. Those riding who knew the Queen Charlotte Road, knew that this final leg was going to be a challenge with lots of little hills, narrow road and a lot of traffic. The car and van came into their own about now to facilitate some pickups of riders and bikes.
This last day saw a total elevation gain of 2282 meters with 4 grade 5 climbs, a grade 4 and a grade 2 which was 7.91 km and averaged 4.1%. Someone mentioned that a section of the Rai saddle peaked at 22% for a short period.
The sense of achievement for all of those involved was awesome to see and be part of. Sue Hoskin wore the Bike Manawatu uniform with pride, and achieved three days of solid riding and a distance she had never considered she would do.
Role on the Taupo Cycle Challenge where Sue will ride the 160 km event.
