After a good night’s sleep in Queenstown, my alarm went off at 6am. Time to get up eat a wholesome breakfast and organise my gear, before the drive over the crown range to Wanaka. A quick stop at the Wanaka Caltex for a few last minute supplies then off to Glendhu Bay Motor Camp to check in before the start at 11am.

The organizers of the Motatapu Icebreaker did a great job at making sure all competitors had the correct safety equipment and bikes were up the standard to complete the event.

As the starting shoots started to fill up, it was great to look around and see so many Blox customers. Wellmarqure Print, Pak’N’Save, Cycleways, Em’s Power Cookies, New World, Southland Tri Club, Share the Road, Wensley’s Cycles, Queenstown Collision Repairs and many more.

I chose to ride in the elite section, as I had a personal goal of riding the Motatapu Icebreaker in under 2.5 hours. At the race briefing, they told us to ride up to the flags, stop, and then there would be a gun start. Unfortunately, that did not happen. By the time I got to the flags that marked the start line, I could only see dust from the gun riders. Kashi Leuchs and Marcus Roy seemed to have something special in their legs as they disappeared into the distance. I focused on trying to get into a rhythm to reach my goal, making sure that I was aware of people around. Just incase Shanaia Twain invited me in for a coffee!

After the first 15km, I doubted all the advice from my now “former friends” on the profile of the Motatapu Icebreaker, told the course was mostly false flat, with two small climbs along the way (bullocks to that advice). The scenery in this race is nothing short of breathtaking. There were many short grunty climbs that made my 103kg work hard all the way to the finish. During the middle stage, there were nasty grass sections that felt as if I was riding with the breaks on (yes I did stop and check my back wheel). Why couldn’t the event organisers mow and roll this section?

As the course ambled along the Motatapu Valley, the ‘k’s counted down, and the water crossings started to increase. Then I reached the ‘much talked about’ decent down into Soho Creek. This was the best and worst part of the race. I was dropping like a stone (boulder) passing a few riders while trying to keep away from the last of the marathon entrants.

Powering through the river crossings brought along the worst part of the race. I somehow managed to snap my chain, and as I lifted my bike out of the water to access the damage, my chain fell into the river. I had a quick look with no luck. This meant that I had to run the last 2km with cold, wet, brick like feet. A person that weighs 103kg runs worse than they climb hills, but cheered on by the large crowd that lined the last 1km or so, I managed to plod my way to the finish.

As I crossed the line I received my reward, no not the South Canterbury Finance drink bottle, nor the free pair of Icebreaker socks it was the smile on the face of my son Max.
A big thank you to the main sponsors Icebreaker, Suzuki, R & R Sport, Yuca, South Canterbury Finance, Speight’s Summit and all the others for making the Motatapu Icebreaker such a great event for all to enjoy.

I would recommend this event for all riders, if and only if you put the training in as it is not for the average couch potato. Visit www.iconicadventures.co.nz/Motatapu to check out all the details.

Actively yours, Paul.