Ruapehu Express 27 Feb, 2016:  

To the increasingly adventurous OTB mountain biking group word was put out that a new MTB event was approaching on February 27th - the Ruapehu Express - 55 km of mostly downhill, fairly fast mountain biking over wildly varying terrain. Accommodation was arranged in Ohakune (the finish point) for 8 pioneers - Kara Daly, Allan Moss, Frank and Jo Geoghegan, Mike Revell, James Betteridge, David and Anne LLoyd. All arrived at various times on Friday, those choosing to leave Wellington after 3 pm having to put up with the now routine crawl for 2 hours to Levin. After that things improved flow wise but we found most cafes past there shut soon after 4 pm - making for limited choices for an evening meal. The early birds ate in Ohakune itself. That evening there was much talk of how much food and water would be needed the next day as we prepared - with hindsight we all over stocked considerably.

Race day we were up at 6 to breakfast and catch the shuttle buses at 7 am to take us to the start at 8.30 at the Tukino Ski Field access road - a reassuring height gain of some 400 m. Clear skies overnight lead to coolish start conditions and a layer of mist drifting round the start area alongside the Desert Road. As the countdown began, we were joined by other OTBs who had stayed nearby in Raetihi - Dave Levick, Mike Faherty, Tim & Sam Blackmore, Dave Flynn and Richard Chiu. The race briefing warned us about not deviating from the marked track as we were travelling through army land, which might have mines and unexploded shells hidden in it! However this wasn’t a problem as with plenty of soft sand for the first 15 km it was clear that the best strategy was to follow the tyre prints of someone else. The pace was pretty hot from the start, being mostly downhill for the first 35 km, and not too technical however as several discovered it was not difficult to come unstuck on the patches of slippery sand initially, and bogs, wet grass and tree roots as we negotiated the forest sections. Also several found that even if you could avoid these obstacles yourself it wasn’t so easy to avoid others extricating themselves from them. The only serious injury was a cracked rib for Richard Chiu who was helped by our own Florence Nightingale Jo Geoghegan who stopped to help several riders. Frank Geoghegan and Mike Faherty were carrying a bit of extra mud at the finish.

Most went at their own pace, the only moments of racing coming when Mike Revell and then Dave Levick caught Frank Geoghegan in the last few kms, but Frank was not to be denied and crossed the line - first of the OTBs followed a few seconds later by Dave and then Mike a minute behind.

Check out the photos and video starring our very own James Betteridge crossing the line in the last few seconds of the footage.

Final OTB placings in order were: 

This proved a very enjoyable event for all: partly because we were blessed with great weather, but also the great view of the mountain and widely varying terrain, the fact we finished 400 m below where we started and numbers being restricted to 500 meant there was a party atmosphere at the finish line opposite the Powderhorn Lodge in Ohakune. In many ways it was similar to a MTB equivalent of the Grape Ride: 4 hr trip on Friday to the start, pleasant meal on Friday night, race and socialising on Saturday with a communal meal Saturday night. Sunday was a leisurely ride of the Coach Road before a delicious lunch at OCR, then the 4 hr drive back to Wellington.

check it out at http://www.ruapehuexpress.co.nz

I’m sure a few more will be up for it next year. 

Mike Revell