I had been unable to preride the course as it is on private land and I had missed the one opportunity I had to ride it due to another race.
However, on Sunday morning Craig and I set out for Battle Hill – yes, Craig came too, it was exciting having him along as he’s never been to a race before. He was chief bike holder while I gossiped with everyone. I think he was overwhelmed with the elite looking riders and how skinny but strong they looked – it was funny.
3, 2, 1… and we were off, pedaling like snot trying to get a good place in the line of riders heading down the track over a river and straight up in to a long hill climb. We had a few more of these hill climbs and gravel down hills as we headed West over the Belmont Hills surrounding the picturesque Patahanui Inlet towards Porirua.
2:26hrs later I rode in to the transition area for the 18km trail run.
This is a great little multisport event worth supporting in Wellington each year – check it out at Porirua Grand Traverse.
