Yesterday some of us went to Motutapu Island to take place in the inaugural Dual – a 50 km MTB ride on the islands in the Gulf.

It was run in conjunction with a running race, the longest of which was a marathon.

During the event, I couldn’t help thinking that this is what a mountain bike is for – we climbed Rangitoto, and went around a large segment of it’s perimeter, then back to Motutapu on to a mix of metal roads, farm tracks and across paddocks. There were enough climbs to make it tough, enough downhill to make it fun, and enough road to make it fast.

The views were spectacular throughout, and the finish was a tricky downhill (good spectator viewing) back to Home Bay, where we were able to eat, drink, swim and socialise.

The real beauty of this event were the things that nearly put me off. We dropped our bikes on Thursday, and they were delivered to the island by the organisers, and afterwards we left them in racks to be returned. Drop off and pickup were both hassle free. The ferry left town at 6 o’clock in the morning, which meant a 4:30 start for most of us.

But the upside was that we got to see the sun rise over the Gulf, and didn’t have to worry about blocking everyone as we got on and off the ferry.

The organisation was superb – full marks to Total Sport. The event was covered by TV3 (watch for Sadie Parker-Winner, and Reuben “I just can’t seem to catch the drink!” Horn) – big TV stars. Follow this link…3 News Article.

If this is repeated, and word this afternoon is that it is very likely, don’t hesitate. This is the best event that I have done.

Results for our group and friends were:

Sadie P – 2:56 – Winner Open Women

Reuben – 2:53 – Winner Junior Men and 19th overall

Jamie Till – 2:38 – 2nd open men and 3rd overall

Jake – 3:06 – 2nd junior men and 37th man

Kiri – 3:12 – 3rd open women and 6th woman

Me – 2:47 4th vet men and 11th overall

Brendan – 2:50 10th open men and 15th overall

ETQ – 3:19, 4th Junior and 91st man

Hamish McArthur – 4:30 – 177th Veteran Men and 345th overall

Provisional results are on the website

By Martyn Pearce