Cruising in Taupo

My sister Sophiemarie, Mum and I traveled down to Taupo for the weekend to compete in the Huka Cruiser, 35km Mountain Bike race. The fast race course, turned out not to be so cruisy, made up of flowing single track, a few to many gravel roads, and some fun downhills! I'm sure it was very scenic, however I didn't have a chance to enjoy it when I was trying to keep up with the group.

The Buzzing atmosphere in Taupo was the best part and made the trip so enjoyable. With over eight thousand people doing what I love to do, racing bikes, everyone was simply having a great time. At the start I managed to get right up the front along with most of the other Jafakids. It was so cool to start at the front of 200 people all racing in the Cruiser.

I raced hard and good exchanging positions with Robin Page throughout the race. Then towards the end there was a small section of down hill trail where I managed to make some distance on him... However I realised the finish wasn't as close as I wanted it to be and Robin took me in his killer sprint finish.

It was good to be racing again after my broken hand which had put me out for 6 weeks (and out of my english exam!). I was happy to finish 8th and confirm that I am still faster than my sister, who raced into 11th overall. Harriet Beaven took out the women's race, while the majority of the overall top ten was Jafakids. Tom and Jemma both put in impressive efforts in the 85km Mountain Bike race and it was also good to see some of the younger Jafakids giving racing a go.

When we drove around the lake after our race had finished it was hard to miss the thousands of riders flying past. There was so much support for the riders which was so cool to see. There was some guys playing the bagpipes as the cyclist raced into town and a band had set up at the top of a big climb.

On Sunday a group of us went for a ride at Kinloch on part of the W2K trail, which was truly amazing. This time I could enjoy the views and the fast tight and groomed trails were so much fun. I got some shots on our GoPro, so watch this space for a short video edit coming soon...