Tour Aotearoa 2016, Day by Day account,
I didn't keep a record of start and finish times, but was generally away in morning by 6.30ish and finished around 11.5hrs later. Earliest start was 5am and latest was about 9am (a cruisy day in Wellington getting bike checked over and 1pm ferry to Picton). Latest finish was 9.30pm (twice)
Day 1 - (2.00pm start) Cape Reinga to Ahipara - 6hr05mins ride time, 106km, 364m climbing - Tented at the camping ground. Tough headwind for first 4.5 - 5hrs
Day 2 - Ahipara to Kauri Coast Camp ground - 8hr56, 143.1km, 2293m - tented again, hot day. Lots of climbing, but spectacular through the Kauri forests
Day 3 - Kauri Coast to Parakai (Helensville) - 5hr48, 102.2km, 1145m - arrived at Poutu Point about 1pm and boat came about 6pm. The hall at Poutu Point was open and had a washing machine, bunks and a kitchen. Another hot day so had a swim and shower, washed all my clothes, got everything dry and generally spent the afternoon eating and drinking. Slept on the deck of the Parakai Boat club (Boat skipper had arranged sleeping in the Club for $5
Day 4 - Parakai to Miranda Springs - 9hr15, 160.2km, 1701m - 5am start to get into Auckland before the traffic. Spent some time at Mt Eden Cycles getting faulty dyno front wheel sorted out (had discovered dodgy bearings on way up, so got spare wheel sent to Ak), Took the inland route through Hanua's (saw 41.3 degrees on garmin!!) Shared a cabin at Miranda Springs camp ground (great takeaway shop)
Day 5 - Miranda Springs to Arapuni - 8hr13, 171.6km, 470m - an almost flat day, mostly along the Hauraki Rail trail. Distance includes a (bad navigation) detour out towards Waihi - great scenery, but not on the course! Slept under a roofed area at the Arapuni bowling club.
Day 6 - Arapuni to Pureora - 7hr24, 102km, 2182m - A hard day!! Very hot and very humid. Lunched at Mangakino. Shopping centre is a couple of km off route, and there is a cafe just after, on the route. Shared a cabin at Pureora Forest Camp (these need to be pre-booked - I hadn't, but managed to sneak in with someone who had - plenty of camping, but it is a few km off route.
Day 7 - The timber Trail - Pureora to Tauramanui - 7hr18, 104.1km, 1266m. First wet day. Rained till bout 2pm, but was sooo much cooler! Probably my favourite day of TA
Day 8 - Tauramanui to Pipiriki - 7hr38, 104.6km, 1724m - Nice riding, but had climbed 500m before morning smoko! Cursed and swore my way up the wet, slippery Mangapurua singletrack (I ended up walking about 10km) but fell in love with the track again on the magnificent downhill to Mangapurua Landing. Caught 5pm jetboat to Pipiriki, with about a half hour wait. Shared a cabin at Pipiriki
Day 9 - Pipiriki to Vinegar Hill - 8hr04, 147km, 1657m - most of the day was on tarseal. Got rear tyre replaced in Wanganui, after cutting it on day 6. Tented at the DOC camp at Vinegar Hill
Day 10 - Vinegar Hill to Pahiatua - 9hr30, 164.1km, 2205m - another lumpy start - 920m climbed by 9.20am! Mostly quiet back country roads. Stayed at Pahiatua camping reserve. Beautiful evening so didn't pitch tent, just spread mat and bag out under a big eaves
Day 11 - Pahiatua to Lower Hutt - 11hrs06, 210km, 1339m - mostly tarseal. Only real hill was Rimutaka Trail. Stayed in Simon Kennetts garage, which backed onto the course in Lower Hutt.
Day 12 - Lower Hutt to Pelorus Bridge - 4hr08, 77.6km, 554m - Got chain and cluster replaced, then caught 1pm ferry. Tented at Pelorus Bridge campsite
Day 13 - Pelorus to Wakefield - 5hr52, 72.8km, 1270m - the toughest climb of the whole trip, over Maunagtapu Saddle, but that was the only hill of the day. Felt good coming into Nelson, but then hit their 2nd hottest day of the year, plus a howling headwind, and hit the proverbial wall. Met another rider in Wakefield and crawled into a B&B just out of Wakefield.
Day 14 - Wakefield to Murchison - 8hr15, 142.3km, 1497m - a lightish headwind most of day, but found some wild blackberries which helped! Had thought of having tea in Murchison and then sleeping somewhere up the Maruia saddle, but seeing some other TA riders enjoying food and beer at the pub put paid to that idea. Booked into a Backpackers.
Day 15 - Murchison to Blackball - 9hr51, 177.2km, 1616m - It rained until mid afternoon - the heaviest rain for the whole Tour. Rivers were all up at Inangahua, so by-passed Big River, down the road. Booked into the Blackball Hilton (the only accomodation I pre-booked - I knew it was off-course and didn't want to arrive there and find they were full).
Day 16 - Blackball to Ross - 8hr47, 156.7km, 950m - Was so tired in the morning that I almost stayed in bed. Made the decision to set no targets, cruise along, and see where I got to. The West Coast Wilderness trail made for a superb "recovery" day, helped out by there being no significant climbs. Stayed in a cabin at Ross Hotel
Day 17 - Ross to Whataroa - 3hr56, 75.6km, 532m - A wet, cold day. Bailed out at Whataroa at lunchtime after failing to warm up after a burger, chips and 2 coffees. Spent the afternoon (by now warm and sunny!) getting everything washed and dried and then spent afternoon on the bunk eating and drinking. Booked a cabin at the Motels
Day 18 - Whataroa to Haast - 9hr26, 184.1km, 1595m - Felt great, good weather, even a light tail wind, great scenery, and well rested. Booked a cabin at one of the motels
Day 19 - Haast to Arrowtown - 11hr08, 200.5km, 2384m - my "Queen" stage - longest riding time, most metres climbed and 2nd biggest distance. Spectacular scenery, and a tailwind from top of Haast Pass. Tented just before dropping into Arrowtown.
Day 20 - Arrowtown to Mossburn - 8hr40, 154.9km, 1089m - Caught the 10am Earnslaw and enjoyed great conditions down the Von Valley. Stayed at the Mossburn pub with 10 other riders - was great company after seeing hardly anyone in the South Island.
Day 21 - Mossburn to Bluff - 5hr43, 140.8km, 341m - Superb last day. Rode with a group of 3 others, 2 of whom I'd ridden with for some days at the start. Awesome tailwind into Bluff, and finished about 1.40pm, so just inside 20 days after we started (plus about 0.5 day for Big River)
Saturday, 10 June 2017
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Aero Bars
The Original 2016 set up
I used a mix of aero bar extensions and mounting pads, made up from what i had already. I used brackets that hold the bars above the handlebars, as putting them under the bars reduced clearance between front roll and wheel. I also packed the arm rests up about 4mm, with some aluminium washers i made up. This raised them a little and made them more comfortable.
With the aerobars mounted, I now had no spare handlebar space for my Garmin, lights etc, so I cut up an old set of road bars, salvaged the centre 31.6mm section (not all bars have this section long enough), and drilled it so that it slid over the aero bar extensions. My light mounted inbetween the aero's and my Garmin mounted on the outside. I never worried about plugging the ends, as the front roll meant I was highly unlikely to ever get a body part in the way (for a potential core sample!) in the event of an off. This piece of bar just sat in place. The strap that tied front roll up to bars ran over it and it just wedged itself down into the bend in the aero's.
The grips on the end of the aero's are the old grips off my bike. easy to get off if I needed to remove the light holder bit etc.
I liked this set up, but I could never ride for extended periods of time on it, and found i would be flicking between aero and standard bars regularly. I put this down to some previous shoulder problems, but it turns out that it was actually that the bars were too low for extended comfortable use.
As a side note, I have done a lot of riding on aero bars, in TT's, Triathlon etc, and I am reasonably flexible. Depending on how much stretching I am doing at any given time, I can at least touch my toes, and can usually get the first or second knuckle on the ground. The less flexible you are, the higher you will need your aero bars, for comfort.
The Late 2016 Setup
When I got the Procaliber, I was worried about mounting aerobars onto the carbon handlebars, and then loading them up with the strap around the front roll. The Procaliber had approx 20mm of spare steerer and I was thinking along the lines of a Fred Bar. Then an old stem caught my eye, so, rather than spend $150 on a Fred Bar, and then maybe find I didn't like it, I used the short piece of old handlebar (used as a light mount above) and mounted the aerobars on that. It felt great, but put the elbow pads too high (my back and hips never changed position when I went from bars to aero). So I swapped the mounting arms and turned them upside down. This dropped the pads about 10-15mm and worked well, just hard to adjust because the bolt heads were in the wrong place now!
The other bonus, is that I could mount the bars a bit wider, which was kinder on my shoulders, both of which have "frozen" in the last 10 years.
Its a little hard to see, but the photo below has this set up. It was a better setup than my 2016 original and i could now ride for extended periods, with comfort, on the aero's. I still felt it needed to be just a little lower tho', but couldn't figure out a way to do it.
The Current Set Up
The next improvement came about after a visit to the Profile Designs tent at Challenge Wanaka in February 2017. These Profile Design Legacy bars mount a little differently. The bars come out in front of the handlebar, rather than sit above it, and so the bars and pads sit lower as a result. They now feel GREAT. The cross bar at the front, with light and Garmin on, is the plastic pipe that the Legacy bars came mounted on, with ends handcrafted (hacksaw and sand paper!) to suit the shape. An 8mm cable tie holds it onto the bars. The extra width between the bars, also means i can get both my Garmin and Light mounted on the cross bar.
Stage 2 is to mount the cue sheet holder - cut out of a 2L ice cream top and wire tied onto the bars. Cue sheets held on with 2 bulldog clips. Also, I'm looking for a shorter stem, to bring the bars and arm rests back towards me a little.
Another bonus of having the aero bars mounted this way, is that it leaves the handlebars free to mount a Blackburn or Specialised style bracket mounted front roll harness.
I also mount my feed bags on the upper stem, which raises them up enough for my twin drink bottles (mounted on the downtube) to be able to be positioned so that they clear my knees, the fork when turned and the feed bags.
I used a mix of aero bar extensions and mounting pads, made up from what i had already. I used brackets that hold the bars above the handlebars, as putting them under the bars reduced clearance between front roll and wheel. I also packed the arm rests up about 4mm, with some aluminium washers i made up. This raised them a little and made them more comfortable.
The grips on the end of the aero's are the old grips off my bike. easy to get off if I needed to remove the light holder bit etc.
I liked this set up, but I could never ride for extended periods of time on it, and found i would be flicking between aero and standard bars regularly. I put this down to some previous shoulder problems, but it turns out that it was actually that the bars were too low for extended comfortable use.
As a side note, I have done a lot of riding on aero bars, in TT's, Triathlon etc, and I am reasonably flexible. Depending on how much stretching I am doing at any given time, I can at least touch my toes, and can usually get the first or second knuckle on the ground. The less flexible you are, the higher you will need your aero bars, for comfort.
The Late 2016 Setup
When I got the Procaliber, I was worried about mounting aerobars onto the carbon handlebars, and then loading them up with the strap around the front roll. The Procaliber had approx 20mm of spare steerer and I was thinking along the lines of a Fred Bar. Then an old stem caught my eye, so, rather than spend $150 on a Fred Bar, and then maybe find I didn't like it, I used the short piece of old handlebar (used as a light mount above) and mounted the aerobars on that. It felt great, but put the elbow pads too high (my back and hips never changed position when I went from bars to aero). So I swapped the mounting arms and turned them upside down. This dropped the pads about 10-15mm and worked well, just hard to adjust because the bolt heads were in the wrong place now!
The other bonus, is that I could mount the bars a bit wider, which was kinder on my shoulders, both of which have "frozen" in the last 10 years.
Its a little hard to see, but the photo below has this set up. It was a better setup than my 2016 original and i could now ride for extended periods, with comfort, on the aero's. I still felt it needed to be just a little lower tho', but couldn't figure out a way to do it.
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| The first generation of Aerobars on the Procaliber |
The Current Set Up
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| Generation 2 aero's on the Procaliber |
Stage 2 is to mount the cue sheet holder - cut out of a 2L ice cream top and wire tied onto the bars. Cue sheets held on with 2 bulldog clips. Also, I'm looking for a shorter stem, to bring the bars and arm rests back towards me a little.
Another bonus of having the aero bars mounted this way, is that it leaves the handlebars free to mount a Blackburn or Specialised style bracket mounted front roll harness.
I also mount my feed bags on the upper stem, which raises them up enough for my twin drink bottles (mounted on the downtube) to be able to be positioned so that they clear my knees, the fork when turned and the feed bags.
Packing the Trek Procaliber
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| The Procaliber at the start of Great Southern Brevet 2017 |
The Frame Bag - I prefer to use drink bottles rather than a bladder, as I seem to keep better control over how much I drink. Also, bottles are easier to clean on a multi-day trip. So the bag I have is great, as it leaves me room for 1 bottle mounted on the seat post. The bag is an Ovega Negra Super Wedgie, size large, and fits very well - saved me having to get a custom bag made for what is a reasonably small frame size (bike is a Medium). It has a pocket for maps etc on the non-drive side, and one pocket on the other. I use it to carry a spare tube and tools (I just put my small seat bag in, which has tube, tyre lever, multi-tool, gas cannister, and misc bits), plus a 2nd tube, survival bag, food and other bits and pieces I may need during the day.
The Seat Bag - I am 1.64m, so had no chance of getting clearance for a seat bag on my full sus bike. Even on the Procaliber I had a struggle to find a bag that fitted the approx 190mm clearance from tyre to seat rails (remember the approx 15mm movement in the IsoCoupler joint). I had an Ovega Negra bag that just fitted, if everything was done up tight etc, but it wasn't waterproof and it wasn't overly big. The bag shown above is an Apidura 14L Dry Saddle pack and fits slightly better than the Ovega Negra, with slightly more tyre clearance AND it holds more. The Apidura also has built in loops that I wire tie my Spot tracker to. The red strap is an ex Mitre10 luggage strap approx 20mm wide with a plastic clip. I use it to reinforce the seat straps on the bag and it also holds the bottom of the bag up a little higher to help counter tyre rub (it also acts as a "spare" fix-it strap if something else breaks). This bag carries my sleeping bag (compressed into another lightweight drybag, just in case!), spare clothes, slip-on shoes, first aid, spare cache battery, etc, plus there is room for food if necessary.
The Front Roll - currently this is a Blackburn Outpost handlebar sling with a Specialised drybag (the smaller one). I carry my tent, sleeping mat, parka, wind vest, down jacket, and "day" clothes - wool gloves and beanie, merino top(s), arm/leg warmers etc. The tent poles don't fit inside the bag, so they go between the sling and the drybag. I may still go back to my Stealth front roll. The fact that it isn't waterproof isn't a biggie (the Specialised bag isn't fully waterproof either) as i just use drybags for the down jacket and the clothes. One advantage of the removeable bag is that it a little easier to pack up, but its not a huge advantage. I strap the front roll up to the aero bars (with one of the Mitre10 straps) and this holds them rock solid.
Front and rear top tube bags are my Stealth custom made ones - still work as good as new after about 10,000km of use, and still carry what they did on the old bike (refer the "getting started" blog)
I now use only one feed bag, although may go back to two for longer trips, to carry food in.
The fork mounted racks are the same as on previous bike - Blackburn Cargo cages with Salsa Anything bags. One carries my cooker (I now use a Primus, similiar to the Jetboil, but very slightly smaller and easier to get in and out). I seldom use the second one, but it is a food carrier for longer trips if needed.
A note on the jetboil / primus cookers - Because you can't fly with gas cannisters, I flew up to TA and bought one in Auckland. I couldn't find a 100gm cannister (that fits inside the cookers) so ended up with a 230gm one. By juggling the load around a bit, it wasn't a problem. The 230gm cannisters sit on top of the cooker in the Salsa bag, so don't take up much more room. And the bigger cannisters are cheaper and last heaps longer - the one I bought lasted me until Reefton, and I used it most days. I cut out a bit of plastic (from an ice cream container lid) and use it to protect the bottom of the cooker from the bits inside it. Also, don't carry any prepackaged drinks etc inside - they jiggle around and end up with torn packets - hot chocolate powder plays havoc with the jets in the cooker unit!! something like gloves or socks etc pack into them quite nicely.
The top drink bottles are mounted in Bontrager Sideswipe RL cages, bolted to Klite Anywhere 2 bolt bottle cage adpators (from http://www.klite.com.au/products). I use a strip of foam tape (to protect frame and also to help stop the adaptors from slipping) and 2 - 8mm wire ties and 2 - 5mm wire ties. Once I have tested that the bottles are in the right place, I wrap the two adaptors in tape, to help hold everything in place. I have done enough riding, over rough ground, to be confident this works well. It takes a little time to get the initial set up right, so that knees, forks and feedbags all miss the bottles.
Trek Procaliber 9.8SL becomes the TA 2018 bike
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| The new Bike - Trek Procaliber 9.8SL |
After TA2016, I had decided I enjoyed the Brevet style of riding, so, in the quiet time after the event, I started thinking about how I could improve, on what had been a pretty much faultless Tour.
One of the surveys that came out, was on the bikes used - the predominant style of bike was hardtail with rigid forks. The primary advantage of this is WEIGHT, or rather, lack of it, in comparison to suspension forks / full suspension etc. Plus, there are fewer moving parts, which means fewer potential breakages.
I started looking around at bike options. I set myself some parameters, based on what I now know.(NOTE - the following are my personal preferences - remember that your "perfect" bike is the one that you are happy riding day after day after day after day......) -
- Flat bar / MTB style. I like the control these offer on gravel. I came across some guys early on in the North Island, on cyclocross bikes on a section of road with deep loose gravel. They had both fallen off several times and one had a broken rear derailleur. I came across the same group in Mossburn again, so the different types of bike ended up finishing basically at the same time.
- 29" wheels and about 2.2" tyres - for same reason as above, plus this combo rolls nicely, still has good speed on the tarseal bits and this size tyre is available in most places in the event of damage. Tyres definitely tubeless and with relatively heavy sidewalls.
- something with readily accessible parts, to help make breakages as fixable as possible.
- lighter than the bike I had been riding
- comfortable enough to look after my 57y.o body on multi-day trips
After researching virtually every bike manufacturer in the world, and exploring Titanium, Steel, Aluminium, Stainless Steel,Carbon and bamboo as build materials, I had the opportunity to ride the Trek Procaliber 9.8SL at a demo day. Quite simply, it is the fastest bike I've ever ridden (including road bikes, if you can imagine a road versus mtb factor!!). Coming from a background of Cross Country MTB racing, the decision was made. At 9.11kg, it also goes uphill supremely well.
The first "big" test of comfort etc was on The Odyssey micro brevet from Alexandra/Old Dunstan Trail/Clarkes Junction/Lawrence/Roxburgh Gorge/Alexandra.
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| The Trek Procaliber, ready to roll at The Odyssey Micro-Brevet |
As a 57 year old, one of my major concerns with a hardtail was the effect it may have on my back and neck. With the Isocoupler at the seat post/rear stay junction, the Procaliber is on a par with the full sus bike for comfort. I had been over the Dunstan trail about 4 weeks earlier on the full sus, and I enjoyed the long, fast, rough downhills MORE on the "hardtail". With the approx 15mm of movement that the Isocoupler gives, most of the downhills could be done sitting down, just like on the full sus. And, it seems to smooth out corrugations and the "little" bumps even better than the full sus.
Another "surprise" was how much I liked the 1x11 Sram gear setup. Losing the front derailleur has meant virtually every drivechain issue I have had in the past has now disappeared - no more dropped chains, not changing into small ring cos you left gear change a nano-second too late, etcetc (on The Odyssey, one of the guys I was with broke his front derailleur - need I say more!)
With the stock 32 tooth front chain ring and rear 10-42 cassette, I had effectively lost the bottom 2 gears (compared to my full sus bike) but barely noticed the difference. No doubt the 9.11kg base weight helped!, but I only seemed to walk as much of the hills as i had on the last trip. The other weight saving comes from the rear bag vs the Thule rack - there is about another 1kg weight saving there, although there is also slightly less carrying capacity.
To help protect my knees from the "bigger" gearing, I have now changed to a 30 tooth oval chainring. Whilst my top end speed is down a bit (I can still pedal at about 45kph) the bottom gearing is great, and the oval ring definitely seems to make the hills a bit easier, and smooths out the pedal stroke, resulting in less rear wheel spin on those short steep pinches.
At the moment, the bike still has the front shock, but I have a Muru Titanium rigid fork coming to try out.
I should also mention the Bontrager XR1 TLR Team Issue tyres. I love these tyres!! - They grip well on the loose gravel encountered regularly on Brevets, handle a bit of mud just fine, are REEEAALLY fast on tarseal, and after 2000km of being hammered over some rough back country, are yet to show any signs of cuts, abrasions or other "unnecessary " wear. I run them tubeless, and they hold pressure well enough to cope with Brevet riding. I run about 25psi and check the tyre pressure about fortnightly.
At the moment, the bike still has the front shock, but I have a Muru Titanium rigid fork coming to try out.
I should also mention the Bontrager XR1 TLR Team Issue tyres. I love these tyres!! - They grip well on the loose gravel encountered regularly on Brevets, handle a bit of mud just fine, are REEEAALLY fast on tarseal, and after 2000km of being hammered over some rough back country, are yet to show any signs of cuts, abrasions or other "unnecessary " wear. I run them tubeless, and they hold pressure well enough to cope with Brevet riding. I run about 25psi and check the tyre pressure about fortnightly.
Sunday, 12 March 2017
TA2016 - getting started, The Epic and Bags
3000km of self-supported bike riding over some of NZ's great back country roads and trails, in a fraction under 20 days, although I did miss the Big River section due to river levels.
This was my first "serious" Brevet type ride. I found the years (four decades really) of tramping, cycling and multi-sports I have done were a major help in preparing for this. I had about 10 months of "specialist" preparation before the event and have to thank the people who offered advice on preparation, gear etc, as this was a major help. Special mention to Phil Brownie for his help and advice.
Since then, I have had a number of people asking my advice on Brevets, so here's how i did it!
Bike used - 2014 Specialised Epic Carbon Comp full suspension MTB, with clip-on aero bars.
- Rear Gear bag - 20L Kathmandu drybag on a Thule Pack n Pedal tour rack. This carried my spare clothes, sleeping bag, jandals, some spare food and other bits n pieces. It was reasonably difficult to get into, so i tried not to carry anything i may need during the day. At 1.64m tall, I had no room for a seat bag, so used the Thule rack
- Front roll - Stealth Bike Bag - custom made to 170mm dia (about mid way between the two sizes Stealth offered at the time. This had my tent, sleeping mat, parka, wind vest and spare clothes, warm gloves, hat etc that I may need during the day (clothes were in a plastic bag to keep dry). I secured this to the bars as per normal, plus strapped it up to the aero bars and it never moved.
- Front Top Tube bag - Stealth Bike bag - custom made, a bit bigger than normal. Had my battery pack, toilet paper, sunglasses, small tin of chamois cream, hand sanitizer, batteries for Spot tracker etc
- Rear top tube bag - Stealth Bike bag - their standard small top tube bag, but made with zip opening the other way. Carried puncture stuff, chain lube, Brooks saddle spanner, small set of snips, some cord etc.
- Stealth feed bags (2) either side of the stem. One had scroggin/dates in it (full, it lasted about 3 days) and the other had a third water bottle - not used much, but essential when it was used!)
- Fork mounted racks - Blackburn Outpost cargo cages, with Salsa Anything bags. Cages were clamped onto forks with two stainless steel hose clamps (rubber between clamp and fork - but still wrecked the stickers on forks). One of these had my Jetboil with some coffee and food in and the other was "spare" for carrying food. It carried a 1.5L water bottle down 90 mile beach on the first day, and that was needed!.
The above set up worked faultlessly. None of the bags / racks moved. The bike was great. I had no hand / foot numbness at all. The aero bars definitely helped with that, as the change in position took all weight off the hands, and bought different muscles into play.
(see seperate gear list for gear details as well)
Training - I had done Challenge Wanaka (iron- distance tri) in Feb 2015, so had a good base level of fitness. Basically, I built up my milage on the MTB over winter, until I was comfortable doing 100+kms and took part in a few of The Flahute Presents mini-brevets. Then, from about September on, I did 2 and then 3 day (approx 450km) trips about every 2nd weekend, with one 5 day trip about three weeks before TA (700km)
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