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Around Brunner 2016

Two thoughts from my experiences at Around Brunner:

1) Kayaking and Running definitely helps make you a stronger cyclist
2) I feel safer in a bunch of Multisporters than New Zealand's 'elite' cyclists

As many of you may know, my troubles with Paroxysmal SVT have come back. Having this occur the weekend before a race is slightly concerning and lead to lots of decision making and doctors visits for second opinions. While I've been told its not "life threatening", its still concerning due to the number of cases of people suddenly dying. Unfortunately (fortunately perhaps?) the only way to figure out exactly whats going on and form some sort of management plan is to catch an episode, and the best way for that to happen is for me to race.

So the decision was made and Rosey and I were on the way to the Coast with my new bike to give Around Brunner a crack. The original reason to enter this event was to test out my cycling fitness 2 weeks out from Coast to Coast, on the same section of road as the first bike ride. It was also my first opportunity to race with Rosey and hopefully get away with a sneaky win in the Mixed Teams section. It also gave me an opportunity to see how my body would handle racing and whether I would be lining up for Coast to Coast or pulling out for the 3rd year in a row.

The race started as expected, Vink off the front and no one wanting to do any work to pull him back in. Some of the domestic team riders would even come over the front of you and grab their brakes to kill any momentum the bunch were starting to get. All in all, a super frustrating ride with stupid roadie politics. The way the front bunch were riding, I feel more comfortable in a bunch with multisporters (and everyone knows how dodgy that can be).

Thankfully the teams swap over still came quickly (70km in 1:49) and a quick transition had Rosey off flying down the road. It was almost 10 minutes before the next team rider came in, so I knew barring any issues, we would get away with the win. Meanwhile I spent some time with the Ambulance crew just in case an episode occurred. After 40mins I knew nothing was going to happen so I quickly made off down the road to see Rosey come across the line and confirm not only the Mixed teams win but the overall teams win as well.

All in all a successful weekend with my first win in a while, a good test of the capabilities of my new bike and a well needed confidence boost leading into Coast to Coast.



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