Crushing the Grape Ride in Marlborough

After months of training, the time had finally come... Friday 4 April... The 2014 Forrest Grape Ride in Marlborough! The kids were anticipating this weekend as much as we were - they were heading over to Uncle Mike and Auntie Anne's to spend two nights with their best buddies.

Their bags were packed... then they waited for us to pack our bags. They waited and waited and... while they waited Hunter was up in his room creating amazing things with his Legos and Helena was at the kitchen table writing songs. Hmmm, window into their personalities and futures, eh...

FINALLY, we had our stuff sorted and we dropped off the kids to Anne and hopped on the Bluebridge Ferry heading south...

 GOOD-BYE WELLINGTON!!!

We spent most of our time in the boat... just chillin'... but once we got into the Sounds we (along with the rest of the ferry passengers) went outside to catch the view and some fresh autumn air!

 Upon arrival at Picton, the adventure began as we still had to get to our motel in Blenheim - about 30km away from the ferry terminal. We strapped on our backpacks, got on our bikes and spent a lovely hour and a half riding along the highway, through long shadows, past swampy marshes until... we arrived at our destination - Knightsbridge Motor Inn.

 Impressively, all our gear for the weekend fit in these two backpacks (truthfully we were already wearing most of the gear we needed). Unfortunately, I did forget one thing - our togs! The place we stayed had a little spa pool which would've come in really handy on Saturday!

We got all of our gear sorted for the big event in the morning, then popped across the street for a relaxing, delicious meal at the Speight's Ale House and a few extra items from the local Countdown.

 Saturday 5 April... this was it! The event we'd been training for!!! I realised I don't sit down for breakfast very often so I thoroughly enjoyed my protein-rich, power oats!

We cycled about a half hour over to the venue for the event catching a gorgeous sunrise!!! Too bad I don't have a helmet camera - that was something I would've loved to have captured!

 There were thousands of cyclists all geared up for this event... YAHOO!!! Some of the Team Arise Racing guys were also here - but they were in the 'fast' group... and Tony had promised to stick with me in the 'slow' group. It was fun to hear their names being called out as the MC was waiting to send them off.

So even though we were in the 'slow' group, Tony is such a strong rider that I basically stuck to his back wheel and rode behind him past everyone... we were cruising at 33-35kph (I normally cruise at 22-27). Everyone was so friendly and there was such a positive buzz all along.

 Half-way point. 

This was our second bathroom stop and Tony had already stopped to help two people change their tyres. Shortly after this pit stop, Tony stopped again to help a young man fix his chain. This was the longest stop he made and although I kept up a quick pace, he was even faster and eventually caught up with only about 15kms to go! He missed my bee down the shirt drama... but we were able to come to the finish line together.

 Only a glimpse of the beauty along Queen Charlotte Drive...

 We stuck around for the prize-giving (after having purchased a few cycling necessities) and were totally inspired by the accomplishments of people who were in their 60's, 70's and those who did that same 101km track ten times!!! 

 I loved riding through the vineyards and quiet roads along Renwick/Blenheim. Tony was typically in front and I just followed behind as he blocked the wind for me so I could actually keep up.

 Nice views!

Saturday night, we decided to get an easy dinner from the supermarket and just hang out for a much needed restful night in. Sunday morning, we packed up our little bags and headed into Blenheim to catch a little bit of the local scene and local craft at a craft fair. And then... the almost 30kms back to Picton... 

Oh my goodness... this was HARD work... I mean HARD work... but we made it to the ferry... we made it to pick up the kids at the St James Theatre where they were for church... we made it to Rempah for a Malaysian take-away dinner... and we made to HOME for the best night's sleep in our own beds! And you better believe I was pretty relieved that it rained much of the next week so I didn't have to get on my bike again! 

But... we did it! And we will definitely do it again!!!

Actually, our trip inspired the following email I sent to the ladies in our Life Group the following week after our Passionate Women's Conference:

There is actually just so much on my heart to share/hear, but I thought I’d start out with a cycling illustration (since we haven’t heard one of those all weekend long)!!!

As you know, Tony and I participated in the Forrest Grape Ride in Marlborough the weekend before Passionate. I had been training for this event since January – gradually increasing my distance, hesitantly including hill climbs, pushing myself to go a little faster, learning about proper training nutrition/fuel - and it all culminated on Saturday 5 April with the official event! This was a 101km loop from Renwick (outside of Blenheim) which included a gradual incline to Picton, major hills along Queen Charlotte Drive, and a steady roll from Havelock back to Renwick… Phew! My official time was 4 hours and 5 minutes (which included two toilet stops and a quick stop to flick a bee out of my shirt –YIKES!) – so I was pretty pleased as this is the furthest I’d ever ridden. The day of the event, Tony and I were totally prepared! We had protein powder, electrolytes, energy gels, bananas as well as heaps of expectation and adrenaline! As we rode along the highway from Blenheim to Picton we were travelling fast [oh, I must say here that Tony is a very strong rider, but he promised to stay with me so we were registered in a ‘slower’ group… which means he was one of the strongest in this group… which will explain why I was going so fast]. We were passing people, chatting with people, and if people passed us, we’d usually pass them again! We were ‘cruising’ at about 33-37kph along this approximately 30km stretch of road and for me, this was absolutely flying (for him, it really was just cruising) and it felt GREAT!!! I was so pumped! So primed! So prepared! And with all the enthusiasm of the other participants, it felt so easy…

Well… the next day, Tony and I  had to ride that same stretch of road from Blenheim back to the ferry in Picton. This time, though, we thought – “ahhh, it’s just 30km… we don’t need any special nutrition… let’s just go!” Let me just tell you, ladies… that was the hardest, longest, loneliest ride! There was nobody else to push us along… no fanfare… no ‘finish line’… then it started to rain! Oh my goodness… my legs had no gas left, my back ached, it was all I could do to crawl at about 18-22kph – and that was pushing it! Thankfully I did have a water bottle…

As I was slogging it out, this thought came to me – this is sometimes what happens in our Christian life… on Sundays (or at special events like Passionate) it is very easy to get excited about the things of God… the enthusiasm of our church family, our own expectation, the preparation we’ve made to enter into God’s Presence is like participating in a long bike event. These mountain top moments are so important for our lives, growth and capacity development… but what happens on Monday morning when we’re slogging it out on our own? What happens when it’s the normal routine, the kids aren’t acting as royal as they should, we’re annoyed with our Prince Charming, the car won’t start, the cupboards are bare, we’ve been growled at by our boss? What happens is this: we draw Living Water from the well we’ve dug and we keep going with Christ as our strength and the Holy Spirit by our side. The pace may feel slower, the tempo may only barely be steady… but we keep digging in and we keep pedalling! As much as I wanted to get off my bike that dreary day after… that wouldn’t have solved my problem – I still needed to get to the ferry – I had a destiny… I had to keep pedalling!  

For each of us I pray that daily we will be fuelled up by spending time in God’s Presence through his Word, in prayer, with the Holy Spirit next to us… let us never think “ahh, it’s only 30km…” and leave the house ill-equipped to face the day! We have the tools, we have a friend in the Holy Spirit and we access to the Source of something even more energizing than my caffeinated electrolytes!!! Even without an event to train for – we still train… because we are always ready to share the Source!