Lake Herron

So, today was a race day, the Arrowsmith ride. Awake at 5.15am, as Mrs PS had to fly to Auckland, and I had to pick a friend up at 6.30am, far too early! Thankfully the kids were with friends .

Then off to Lake Heron, via Mt Somers, pretty much a 2hr drive from Christchurch. We got there at 8.30. Initially overcast, but then it cleared into a fantastic day, sunny, little wind, not to hot. Perfect for riding up (and down) a huge hill.

At 10.45 we set off on the ride, after a long decision to ride my 26 or 29, went for the 29er eventually as I have to "get used to it". Yes, still trying ... hmm.

3km of road, and then 700m of vertical climb over the next 8km. And man was it hard, pushed a good part of it, but still reached the top after 1 hr 16. And once at the top; the views, just staggering, and I didn't have a camera! Arrowsmith range, the valleys, some snow, blue skies - just perfect.

And then it was (mostly) downhill, or that's what my elevation profile tells me,. But, some of the downhills were steep and challenging, some of the flats very very rough, and there were a few sharp uphills, but I managed to mostly ride the next 31km. But it was rough. Made worse by the fact I got a very sore back, as usual, which after much discussion post-race is due to poor core strength. Can't do much about that in a hurry. More Pilates ...

So, to cut a long story short, ride time of 3:09 for the 42km, but the official time will be longer due to some stops and stretching I did. Half way thru I was wondering why the hell I do this, is fitness that important? But now I am home, have a glass of Pinot in my hand, yeah, it's worth it. Next time I'll take my camera, and be even fitter, and probably ride my 26. Here's the event location/profile from my GPS if you're interested.

I'm stuffed. Night.

Oh yep, photo unfortunately is an afterthought as were leaving. As I said, I didn't take my camera on the ride, bugger!