Sure to be an experience and isn’t that one of the reasons we do things like this?
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I’m psyched, see you there 
What do you reckon about a 90m threshold workout the Sunday before that 5 day stage race though? Threshold riding is my kryptonite.
Yeah 90 min threshold that close to race day? I may make some adjustments.
I know @Jason_Kennedy is “local” in that he won’t require a passport and he’s done it the first two years. (very good videos too)
I’ve got tentative approval from “She Who Must Be Obeyed” provided we can find a house to share with another couple.
Enjoy. If you have any questions about logistics etc please let me know.
I have videos from both years that is has been run. I did what was the 4 stage the first year and then opted just to do 2 stages last year.
It has been evolving and Tim the race director went to the BCBR and a couple of other stage races and has been making some tweeks to the format. Rotorua trails are amazing though so you will love those if you like single track.
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O man, that looks awesome! Maybe in 26 as I have to line everything up, coming from the states. My wife was wanting to do a Milford Sound Hike around that time as well. I rode in Rotorua (on rented ebike) last year and it was epic.
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Excitred to see people talking about this race. Did it last year and it’s my A race next year. Seems that the organizer has made a big push this year to get the word out. It’s a 5 minute ride from my front door to the trails so I’m a bit spoiled.
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How does the shuttling work? you drop your bike off the night before and they bus you out to the race venue for those days? Just not super keen on hiring a car for just that. Wife and I are planning on some extra time. Do I remember correctly that going South Island to North is the way to go if you hire a car? Trick is going to be finding one that will fit my bike in the Evoc plus our bags.
Sorry, can’t help you much with the shuttling. We just drove ourselves last year, all the stages except the last day were loops and the last day was an easy 10 minute ride from the finish to the start. There is one new stage this year that needs a shuttle that we’ll probably just shuttle ourselves.
As far as traveling around you won’t have any trouble hiring a car at any of the major cities. so it doesn’t really matter if you go north to south or south to north. If you are looking for the stereotypical NZ landscapes I’d look to spend more time on the south island.
We did a two week tour (North to South, Lord of the Rings locations, plus some other cool stuff, like Milford Sound) in 2018. We spent all of “a night” in Rotorua, so that’s one of the reasons my wife is on board.
Hiring a car to get from Aukland to Rotorua is one thing. (If a bike rack is an option from the hire company all the better.)
I’ll inquire with the organizer about shuttling, I’m sure it’s just something they have on the site, but isn’t called out explicitly. @Jason_Kennedy did have a bit in his 2023 video where he shuttled so they do it, just not talking about it themselves.
Still looking to share a rental with another couple that’s going to be doing the race.
@webdev511 it would be easier to hire a car, even for those 5 days. As long as you get a car where the back seats fold down you can easily fit 2 adults and the evoc bag and luggage in there and just your bike between stages. It is always difficult to hire a car with a rack. There is also an airport at Rotorua that has domestic connections.
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Any thoughts on the optimal plan choice for Volcanic Epic?
Next year, I’m doing Volcanic in March and then BC Bike race in May. Having done a few years of the XCM Plan I was going to try out the rolling road race plan this year - anyone else used this for multi day MTB stage races?
Any thoughts @Jason_Kennedy knowing you know the demands of both races!
I’d like to but since I’m consulting these days, vacation days = not getting paid days, so overseas races are not going to be in the cards.
Well BCBR is technically more challenging and the average KPH is slower. I am not sure how the pans will fit into it but I think either of those 2 you have been using are the ones. I do my own plan now which is basically 2 x Intervals a week with the remainder being Z2 for the week and maybe a longer faster one at the weekend. Either way the VE is a ncie warm up for BCBR. @DrFaffy
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