Makara Peak Rally 2008

I saw this poster posted on Vorb and thought I'd pimp it immediately - both as a sponsor, and as a huge (shhh!) fan of this fun event.



I also thought it was worth special mention of the new recreational option for the morning's Peak to Creek Relay, which is the Koru/Lazy Fern loop rather than all the way to the summit. This lower loop is a great taster for Makara Peak MTB Park, and easily do-able by anyone who rides a bike - it's totally non-technical, not too steep up or down, and runs through some of the most beautiful regenerating native bush you'll ever find...



I'm hoping Ket and Harry will be riding in the rec C2P but, cunningly, I'll be marshalling somewhere on the hill.

While we're on the subject, and just to fire you up, here's a shot of myself I pull out whenever I get the chance - it's me suavely dropping the step on Starfish on my way to a glorious victory in the vet class in December 2004...



Here's the full story behind that unbelievable result as ripped from my ancient manuscripts...

5th of December, 2004

A date that will echo forever in the Hall of Fame of Roadworks. Team Roadworks won the vets section of the Makara Peak Rally Creek to Peak MTB event this year! Thanks heaps to Race Organiser John Randal for taking time out from caring for many cold and muddy mountainbikers to be my team-mate. He laid down such a scorching second lap that he pulled us up into first place. I haven't won a bike race of any kind since 1986 so I'm fully buzzing!



It was hard conditions out there - a cold southerly started dumping rain on us at the start so it was slippery slurry on the top of the whole course, which made it interesting and dirty, but very fun. Congratulations to all the competitors both in the Creek to Peak and, later in the day, the much tougher Tour de Peak.

Both races made for a truly great event despite the challenging conditions. Roadworks was one of the sponsors this year, and I'm going to make it an ongoing sponsorship. The job the Makara Peak Supporters do on our behalf is absolutely awesome, and they have created one of (if not the) finest mountainbiking resources in New Zealand, and I consider it an honour to be able to assist in a small way...

I still feel the same way about this cool event. Check it out if you can.

As ever, thanks for reading.