Graham Moor, a 42 year-old company director from Kerikeri, was a Taupo first timer two weeks ago. Having only been cycling for a year he gives us his thoughts on his first Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge experience.
 
How long have you been cycling? What got you into it?
 
I have been cycling for just over a year. I was walking past the local shop Fat Dog Cycles and saw a great deal on a Trek 1400 and thought I would try cycling.( The 1400 now sits on the wind trainer and a 5.9 Trek Madone does the damage now). I built up a bit of a base and Tim from Fat Dog got me to a Sunday ride with the Kerikeri Striders and I was hooked.   Inevitably conversations turned to events to be targeted. 
 
When did you decide to do Taupo?

Taupo seemed a great option and enabled me to have a more structured training schedule. 

How did you prepare? 

Club rides on a Sunday were 90 to 160 kms and there was always a race home over the last 15-20 kms. It was a long time before I could even keep the others in sight .Training was as much riding as I could fit around running a business, being a father to two horse-mad girls and a husband to a horse- mad wife. We both serve on various committees and boards, so time management was critical. 3-4  good rides of various intensity plus Sunday club rides were the shot. My Kerikeri Striders club mates were a great source of advice about training, nutrition and equipment. Boy is there awesome gear out there! I have always played sport looking the part!
 
How did you find cycling compared to previous sports you've participated in?

Having played hockey for Northland, I had no problem getting into the right head space as far as commitment to training was concerned. For ten years I traveled to Whangarei from the Bay of Islands to play club and rep hockey. My club Springfield held the club title for 21 years so it would be a fair call to say I am competitive. Bayley and Greer, my daughters, are more active and inspired by me doing cycling but were never sedentary anyway.They certainly gave me some grief when I started shaving my legs!! It was awesome to get a medal (chocolate) from them when I finished and they had also made me some Finisher Certificates as well.

Any special thoughts/comments on the event? Would you recommend it to your friends/work colleagues?

I was blown away by the attitudes and atmosphere at Taupo. I love being around positive people and I was keen to take it all in on Saturday 25th at the start. As a 42 year-old Taupo Race "Virgin" I arrived  early but it didn't take long for the start groups to fill up. The bunches were often huge and their sheer size meant they overflowed into the right hand lane at times. Due to my inexperience I didn't find a bunch that I was comfortable with until Turangi! Lesson for next time. One guy passed me six times - I passed him seven times! Obviously fluid and nutrition is critical to getting round the lake and I made a conscious effort to finish a bottle every 1.5 hours. Leppin Squeezys and bananas did the rest. My sister-in-law does sport massage and I recovered well after she had finished with me. I recommend Leppin Recovery Formula as well.
 
What about after the event?
 
I was back on the bike on Monday and the legs were just a little tight. A week later I'm still fizzing about the event. I had never done anything like this before and have been encouraging friends to get on a bike. The logistics of this event were superb and Keith Crate (ex Kerikeri by the way) and his team were excellent. The local community has really bought in to the event and it was great see the supporters out on the course offering encouragement. So the sights are set on a sub 5 lap next year.