Lake Taupo century ride

[araim1]

I am excited with the up coming trip to New Zealand next week. A friend of mine introduced a cycle event there that takes place every year to ride around the lake. The event is called "Lake Taupo Cycle challenge" and is said the largest century ride in the world, capturing over 10,000 riders.

http://www.cyclechallenge.com/default.asp

The route is nothing special. It goes round the lake and has a few ups and downs of around 340m. Some participants do two laps for double century around the lake, but they are obviously minority.

I will be in NZ a little over one week and will enjoy NZ outdoor activities there, will report later next month.


Minoru Arai

 

[kiwisimon]

kia ora good luck Minoru, watch out, those climbs are a lot tougher than many imagine. not so steep but the whole course is mainly just up and down. flat 20 km section towards the end. http://www.cyclechallenge.com/pdf/SoloAndEnduroProfile.pdf

 

[araim1]

Report on the event

I just came back from New Zealand yesterday and am trying to report on this event.

The event is one of the largest events in terms of the participants which is over 10,000. This Lake Taupo cycle challenge took place at Taupo , 4 hour drive down from Auckland.

In this event, most of them make one lap around the lake which makes 160km but several dozen of them make either two laps or four laps. Those in 4 laps start at 10:30AM previous day and those in 2 laps start at 1:30AM on the day. There is no specific time limit but all ceremony starts around 6:00PM, so this may be the target. The fastest is 3:46 for one lap and 22:46 for 4 laps as the record as of last year. I do not know about the record of this year. But these are the record by those near professional and most of the participants spend around 8 hours.

The route is very simple, just go around the lake and only two turning points. The view from the coarse is just gorgeous and unforgettable. Please see some pics below. These tell the whole story

http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/minoru.arai2006/LakeTaupoCycleChallenge?authkey=B1Qf6bfPK0Q#

There are few ups and downs of over 150m and many minor hills, but gradient is not high as a whole, most of which are 5%. After 100Km point, the route is on the main road where cars run over 100km/h. So, be carefull. Otherwise, there is very little traffic along the way.

I was informed in advance that there is neither convenience store nor restaurant along the way. Five support stations are provided but they serve only water. Someone provided sun screen creme though. Everyone so need to carry all foods for the day.

Since Taupo has only a little over 10,000 population, there is no major hotel. So participants stay over at B&Bs n town and in vicinity. We stayed at a B&B with wonderful view of the lake Taupo.

The event is very well organized and enjoyable. I want to try two laps next year.:bike:

We were able to do some more outdoor activities during 8 days stay in NZ. I envy those who live in NZ. The country provides all kinds of outdoor activities other than cycling. I saw many cyclists in Auckland too.


Minoru Arai

 

[kiwisimon]

great report Minoru, next time do yourself a favour and go directly to the South Island. Much more dynamic scenery.

 

[Phil]

Thanks for the report and pics Minoru. New Zealand really does seem to have more than its fair share of stunning scenery...