Lake Taupo Challenge?

[RoadRaven]

A bit late in replying... sorry...

I have never done it myself, but my partner has, and I think it will be a 2007 goal for both he and my eldest boy to ride the "Classic" which is the elite race with prize money. (if this is so, I will probably do it as part of a relay team)

One of our Vet men from our club won the SuperEnduro (640km) this year (it starts the day before the "main event") - Jason completed it in 25hours 19mins (thats an overall average of approx 26kph - bear in mind his time includes not just ride time, but stop and stretch times, food and toilet stops... so his actual average speed if you just calculated ride time would be higher).

Here is a link to his write-up of it...
http://www.ramblers.co.nz/news/detail.asp?ID=70

Taupo (said toe as in big toe / paw as in cats paw) is a wonderful place to visit and to ride. This (for LOTR fans) is where Mount Doom is situated. The weather can be unpredcictable but the challenge is at a time of the year you can hope to have mild to warm weather.

This year the wind blew and blew and blew and made it very tough for all concerned. The year my partner rode it was a sunny hot day... last year it rained...

The lake is usually warm by the time of the Taupo Challenge, and there is now a mountain bike option for participating. And like CC says, some great off-road options at Rotorua (raw as in raw meat /tore as in I tore a muscle / roo as in kangaroo/ ar as in car) including some fabulous tracks through Redwood forests.

I think it is definately a good goal for 2007 if you didn't do it this year ... however, you need to make sure you start in the right group and try and be at the start of that group. The size of this event is astronmical now with over 10,000 cyclists participating. Thats a heckuva lot of people who haven't a clue about cycling protocols or about being aware that they are sharing the road with other cyclists. According to friends who have ridden in it, or have been involved in crashes, it can get pretty scarey if you are with people who are there for pure socialistaion and fun without the knowledge that should go with riding with others.

The next challenge is 24 November 2007
http://www.cyclechallenge.org.nz/