Joe, Kerry, Andy and I headed up to Hanmer in the rain on Friday night. Saturday morning was clear as the race started. It was cold and windy at the top of Mt Isobel and we were running through shallow snow drifts. My calf muscles started cramping on the descent, sadly. Andrew was snapping away madly at the transition. Into the bike. Someone was drafting me to begin with. I followed him for a while and then went ahead again. Turning around I noticed that he had vanished. All was going well until my calf muscles started cramping again. I stopped riding to recover and watched people ride past. My gears started misbehaving and I decided my seat was too low. I spent the rest of the race riding just slow enough to avoid more series cramps. Mahhh. Near the end of the race I noticed Sia behind me and was spurred into a final effort.
Joe had a good race and finished second in the open men. Calvin and Rob also went well. We were all outclassed by ACW who beat Joe.
Kat joined us Saturday night and we ate dinner with Calvin and Rob.
Kat and I lazed in the hot pools on Sunday before heading back in the endless rain to Christchurch.
Mt Isobel Challenge 2009[maptype=G_HYBRID_MAP;gpxview=all;gpxspeedchart=show]