Charles

Yesterday (22nd December), Julian Carr and I cycled together up the Maungakotokutoku Hill, five times.

It was a difficult temperature to ride in, and I perhaps should have worn a slightly thinner layer. We started off (Julian leading) at a decent pace, finishing the first climb in 9 minutes and 55 seconds, Mum waiting at the bottom to record our time.

We sped up on the second lap (this time I took the lead), finishing in 9 minutes and 37 seconds. That was painful.

We took it easy on the third lap, spending about 3/4 of a minute off the saddle to give our legs a little bit of a rest. This lap took 10 minutes and 33 seconds.

We stayed seated for most of the fourth-lap, going slowly to retain breath for the final climb. Julian was also explaining to someone on the phone how he was cycling up a hill "in second place." When we reached the top, we knew that we were almost done. On the descent, a bee flew into Julian's helmet. We descended slowly, to gather as much energy as we could for the last and final climb. 11 minutes and 33 seconds.

The final lap, which we spent most of the time out of the saddle, saw us reach the top in 9 minutes and 28 seconds. That's 15 seconds slower than my Hill Climbing Champs finish-time.