Update from the front line of the Ingerreke Enduro

Ron has been giving us updates on how the Ronblefish is going out in the Red centre, so thought we would pass on his email below. 

Hey Jerry and Ben.

 

Having an awesome time at the second day of the Ingerreke Enduro. Stage 3 done.  155 iders in total here in Alice Springs with the Ronnblefish placing 61 after Stage 1, stage 2 dropping one place to 62nd.  Stage 1 was 39km XC and stage 2 being a very steep 300m climb up our local look out Anzac Hill. Its a bitumen climb. Fastest rider completed 45 sec the Ronnblefish 1min 16sec. Stage 3 today 49km XC with very technical terrain.  After 15km I bent the bolts holding my cleat on my right shoe and had the cleat about 30 degrees offset which made it  a little annoying. Came in with a 2hr 48min. Not sure where that now places me but I will find out this afternoon. Tomorrow the longest stage 77km XC.

 

Woo Hoo, awesome!!!

 

Have Fun Guys

 

Ronn

NZ Bound - Riding the Coppermine (Part 2)

Racing The Coppermine

Perhaps indicative of the special place the Coppermine Trail holds in the heart of Nelsonians, there is an annual race that is held each February for locals and out-of-towners called the "Coppermine Epic". Starting and finishing in the Maitai Valley with a 40km circuit over the Coppermine Saddle in between, the even attracts around 300 riders each year who battle it against the clock to see who is the fastest at both the long ascent and the technical descent. There are 2 variations of the race; the Epic and the Enduro, with the Epic taking a detour off the Dun Mountain Trail over Fringe Hill and along Black Diamond Spur. The photo on the left is of a makeshift bar that is setup on the day of the race to provide riders cresting the peak of Fringe Hill a cold refreshing beer courtesy of the local microbrewery, the Sprig&Fern. That climb is the steepest of the day, and for many riders the only thing getting them to the top of the hill is the thought of a lager to wet their lips. While I'm not usually the competitive type, the lure of riding in a mass-participation event and pinning my ride time against the local talent seemed to grab me, perhaps as I had started to develop a substantial appreciation for the trail itself.

At the top of the Coppermine Saddle is an

information board about the Mineral Belt and some of the local flora & fauna in the area. Just a little further on from the info board is a small clearing with a hardpack dirt trail leading away from a warning sign that states: "Some areas of track require extra caution", amongst other things. With the Dun Mountain Peak looming ahead, this is where your heart begins to beat a few thumps faster in anticipation of the amazing piece of singletrack that has been laid before you, filling up your veins with adrenaline and excitement that quickly sees you turn into a 12 year old kid again.

Dropping 700 vertical meters over the next 10km, the descent through Boulder Valley snakes its way along the mountainside through creek crossings, down ridgelines and around berm after berm. Checking your speed is super important to make sure you can roll around each switchback corner without overshooting or drifting off line, and over the course of the descent you find your exit speed improving with each corner. As soon as you ease off the brake levers, you feel your bike accelerate almost instantly as it gets sucked downhill by gravity, pulling you down into the loose and rocky trail surface.

Lining much of the trail on the way down are significant groups of rim-hunting baby-head sized rocks that occasionally collect around a creek crossing or a divot in the track. The first time I rode this surface was with some trepidation as I was conscious of smacking my wheels and/or frame onto a savage rock as I came hurtling down the trail a little faster than I would have liked. Having said that, I began to get used to my suspension and tyres absorbing the hits for me and finding I could more easily "float" over the irregularities in the trail if I stayed off the brakes. The reward is a high-paced chattery ride that sees you on the fine line between delirious fun and slightly out of control - it is very addictive!

On the same day I was riding with my Melbourne friend Andy, we both found out the consequence of riding at this slightly faster pace with slightly less ideal line selection when we both slammed our back wheels through one of the creek crossings lower down the valley. After barrelling through, I quickly pulled up to a stop to warn Andy of the crossing as another friend of mine had flatted on it only a week before. Before I could yell out "slow down Andy!", a 'hissing' noise exhausted itself from my rear tyre and I realised I had just made exactly the same mistake. Andy pulled up next to me and as we both laughed at my misfortune, his rear tyre began wheezing air from a snakebite puncture causing us to laugh even harder at our luck.

During the Coppermine race, I lost count of the number of riders who were sitting on the side of the trail with a pump in hand and various tubes and tools dangling off their arms as they furiously tried to get themselves back into the race. Tyre pressure is an important factor on the Coppermine, and (from experience!) I make a habit of bumping up 2psi from my usual tyre pressure to ensure my tubes have adequate protection from rocky edges on the trail. Luckily for me, I had no punctures or mechanicals on the day of the event, but there were many out there that weren't so lucky and saw many minutes lost to frantic tube swaps.

Overall, race day seemed to work out very well for me, with beautiful weather, great track conditions and a lack of any bike troubles or crashes. One rider walked away from the event with a broken collarbone, and many riders struggled through sole-destroying mechanicals or general exhaustion that saw some folks crossing the finish line about 5 hours after they had begun. of course, this all adds to the 'experience', but I was glad that I made an effort early on to get ahead of the main pack to avoid congestion on the first few sections of singletrack. Once the trail opened up to fireroad on the back of Tantragee Saddle I managed to get a steady rhythm on my way up the first section of the Dun Mountain railway. For a good 45 minutes I found myself climbing pretty much on my own, which is an odd experience when you're trying to ride at pace in a relatively quiet and serene environment. Getting out onto the Mineral Belt I found myself with a few riders in tow, and we rolled our way along the rocky trail up to the Saddle. Perhaps it was having some riders around me again, or it could have been the spectacular views that open up in the clearing, and it may have also been the fact that we were nearing Boulder Valley, but we all found ourselves 'whooping' and 'yee-haa-ing' as we neared the peak of the ride.

The Coppermine descent is the reason why every rider makes the 2 hour trek up to the saddle, as it is the ideal reward for all the hard work you've put in and is sure to motivate you on even the toughest days on the bike. Knowing that gravity was about to switch sides with me, motoring uphill doesn't seem to be as hard as it was earlier. While there wasn't a whole lot of traffic on the descent, I was quickly able to reign in a few leg-shaving roadies that were struggling with the loose surface, which was quite rewarding after they had overtaken me on the climb. With some of the trail stretching out into straight sections that allows you to build up some decent speeds, many riders cautiously feather their brakes to avoid breaking traction coming into the tight corners. The lower portion of the descent towards the Maitai Dam features a smoother riding surface that undulates along the valley that reminds me a lot of the Red Carpet trail at the Forrest MTB park in Victoria. Along this rollercoaster singletrack is where you can easily wind up to over 40km/h without pedalling and allow you to cover the last part of the descent with impressive speed. Just before you reach the sealed bitumen of the Maitai Road, the trail surface turns into loose shale rock that snakes its way around a mixture of large pine & native trees that surround you. With one last left hand switchback, you're spit out onto a clearing and onto the road, ready to head back.

While it's certainly not anyones favourite section of the loop, the stretch along the Maitai Valley is a good opportunity to stretch out the legs and rest your ankles and wrists that have been hanging on for dear life for the past 30 minutes. It actually happens to be a stunning piece of roadway as it follows the Maitai river along the valley and allows you take in the last remaining piece of wilderness before you get back into Nelson. Although I would normally cruise along this section, race day called for a higher pace, though my attempted 'drafting' behind a group of 5 didn't go so well, with me getting dropped like a tonne of bricks within about 50m. Shortly after, the course crossed back over the river and onto a dirt path for the remaining distance back to the finish line and finally through the singletrack section we had begun the race on earlier that morning. Legs burning, lungs hurting, I span my pedals madly through the open field towards the finish line, glad to have had a clean race with no particular upsets. And it was then that I was able to quantify my time around the venerable Coppermine loop; 2 hours and 18 minutes. Not really knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had finished 2nd in my category and 8th overall in the Coppermine Enduro event.

For many riders, simply finishing the 40km trail is a feat in itself and there were many relieved faces crossing the finish line. While it was great to know what you can do when you're racing against the clock, being part of such an awesome event with a huge group of like-minded and passionate riders is really what the Coppermine is all about.

Perhaps one of my favourite parts of completing this ride is the after-ride visit to the local tavern; the Sprig&Fern. A Nelson institution and also one that is very popular with mountain bikers, the S&F is a micro-brewery pub that features about 14 different beers, ciders and other drinks on tap that they brew onsite such as the Alcoholic Lemonade (yes, it is as amazing as it sounds!). With a fush 'n' chup store next door that delivers food into the pub, there is no better place to reminisce the best parts of the ride and discuss where you could have been faster or improved your technique, whilst refuelling your body with delicious beer and food.

It's also a great midweek meeting place to discuss the following weekends riding plans and to work out the next chance you'll have to take on the Coppermine trail...

NZ Bound - Riding the Coppermine (Part 1)

Mining with Rubber

For anyone familiar with mountain biking around Nelson, there is one trail in particular that you will always hear being discussed in the days leading up to the weekend; The Coppermine. Having become firmly established in local mountain bike folklore, the Coppermine trail seems to achieve that magical balance of being physically challenging, having glorious singletrack as well as stunning views, whilst also making you feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere. Proper mountain biking. And it's not like Nelsonites don't have a huge range of amazing trails at their disposal, so putting the Coppermine up there as one of the best is bestowing it with a particularly envious reputation.

The appeal of this 40km loop is wide-reaching and draws in all kinds of folk including weekend warriors, super-fit roadies, downhillers, punters, trail enthusiasts and even travelling tourists. While you are climbing for the best part of 2 hours, it is a consistent gradient that allows you to get into a steady rhythm regardless of how fit you are and it is not uncommon to see grandparents and younger kids making the journey up.

The Coppermine loop is the complete circuit of the Dun Mountain Trail, which is a joint walking/riding track that snakes its way from just outside of the Nelson CBD up through the Brook Valley, around Fringe Hill and up onto the Coppermine Saddle that sits between Wooded Peak and Dun Mountain. This trail is based on New Zealand's very first railway that was designed to transport minerals from the Eastern slope of Wooded Peak back down to Nelson Port, which was about 21km in length. The railway followed a gradient of between 1:18 - 1:20, making it an ideal ascent for walkers and riders that allows you to steadily gain elevation without things getting too steep.

During its construction back in 1861, there were various stations or "houses" along the length of the railway line that contained horse stables, workshops for the carpenters & blacksmiths as well as accommodation for workers. The photo on the left is of the "Third House" that still remains today, providing a historic rest stop on your way up the climb, or even a spot to camp for the night if you're on a hike.

Breaking my Coppermine Virginity

Having only been in Nelson less that a fortnight, the few people I had met all seemed hellbent on recommending me to complete the Coppermine loop. I had ridden a few of the trails around Nelson and had quickly discovered that while the terrain was much steeper and more technical than I was used to, it was also some of the best riding I had ever experienced. To hear that there was a longer, better loop out there that had recently been awarded as one of NZ's "Great Trails" was a particularly salivating prospect. The first time I rode the Coppermine was with a local DH shredder called Jake on December 22nd, 2011.

Climbing up from 3rd House, the hardpack trail begins to get rockier and rockier, with shale and loose stones littering much of track around the many creek crossings. For those less technically-capable riders, it is quite common for folks to turn around at 3rd House and ride the Dun Mountain trail back down into Nelson. After having ridden the Coppermine about 5 times now, I honestly don't know how you could give up all that elevation when only a few km's further you have this view (photo right) to take in as well as one of the sweetest singletrack descents I have ever experienced.

Aside from getting rockier and more technical, the stretch between 3rd and 4th House also becomes more and more like a scene from Lord of the Rings, with moss-covered rock faces, large fallen tree trunks and leaf-litter covering most of the undergrowth. A couple of times I have ridden this section in an eerily low cloud line, and the shortened tunnel of visibility in front of you intensifies the sensation of being in the wilderness. That particular days riding was dotted with light showers that we were mostly protected from, but with wet precipitation covering all surfaces of the foliage that hugged the singletrack, it didn't take long for our gloves, shorts and shoes to become soaked with the rain water.

Past the site of 4th House, you burst out of the tree line into a rock-strewn landscape with low-lying tussocks and scree plants. This sharp contrast to the lush forest you were previously riding in could almost be drawn with a pen, and is the sign that you've arrived at the Mineral Belt. Winding its way in a distinct pattern across the mountain range and defined by the Dun Mountain Peak, the Mineral Belt is the reason the railway was constructed in the first place; initially to mine Copper, but later on to mine Chromite deposits. Because of the chemical makeup of the rock and soil, very little vegetation can grow on the Mineral Belt and is why it is sometimes referred to as a "lunar landscape". Riding the trail between Windy Point and the Coppermine Saddle, Jake and I barrelled over large 'n' loose rocks as we made our way to the 878m peak of the ride, occasionally losing the back tyre as it spun out from climbing out of a dip in the trail...

Check out my next blog update with Part 2. detailing the amazing Coppermine descent, as well as the recent Coppermine Enduro race I took part in that will be forever etched in my memory as one of the best MTB events I have ever participated in.

In the meantime, checkout the promotional video from the Coppermine Epic event below;

Coppermine Epic from bikeworks on Vimeo.

My Mountain News

SSS Shop Ride

The next social ride for the Secret Singletrack Society is planned for this Sunday, and we'll be taking the SSS crew out to ride the trails of Bendigo. One of our good customers that lives up that way has offered to show us around the local singletrack and will give us a all a good chance to ride some new trails. We'll be out riding for 2-3 hours, and will wrap up the trip with a pub lunch before heading back to Melbourne.

Details have been emailed out to SSS members, though if you haven't received an email or want to find out if you're eligible to join - contact the shop and we'll fill you in on what's involved.

The Gravity 12hr Boot Camp

This one we're pretty excited about - a joint venture between MM and the Spin Room, we've organised a 4-week "Boot Camp" for the lead up to the Gravity 12 hour race in early November. After running a complementary spin class for the SSS crew last Monday, we received so much positive feedback and requests for more MM spin classes that we decided to organise a training program for the 4 weeks leading up to the Gravity enduro event. The program will consist of spin classes tailored towards mountain bikers, as well as information sessions on nutrition, bike setup and training to kick start everyone for the upcoming riding season.

With the invitation extending firstly to the SSS crew, almost all of the available spots have been filled though we still have a couple left for the Monday kickoff. If you're interested in boosting your fitness levels and riding technique either for Gravity or for the Summer season, get in contact with us for details about the boot camp package.

Wednesday Night Shop Rides

In other shop riding news; for those that have been asking, we'll be kicking off the Wednesday night Shop Rides soon, as daylight savings has given us a few more hours of sunlight to play with. Over the Summer riding season, we will be hosting a ride that will leave from the shop at 6pm and head from Fairfield Boathouse along the Yarra Trails. The social rides are open to any rider of intermediate fitness and skill, though if you haven't been along before give us a call to work out if they're for you.

We will keep everyone posted on when the first ride will be, so keep an eye out for Facebook and the blog for more info.

Until then, happy trails and looking forward to hitting it up with the SSS on Sunday!

Singlespeed Nationals 2011 - Crossing the Border

The Singlespeed Nationals is a once-a-year (semi)organised race event that gets a bunch of similarly mentally damaged mountain bike singlespeeders together to participate in a weekend of stupid costumes, beer drinking, tattoos, huffy-tossing, general frivolity and a little bit of riding in between.

Having participated in last years event in Canberra where my bike was stolen (anyone remember that one?), Mat ended up in hospital and Troy was so hungover that he elected not to ride his bike on many occasions, I actually didn't even hesitate to take off a weekend in September to do all the above, all over again. Well, except for the bike getting stolen thing. Or the hospital trip. Or the whole Troy getting... ah who was I kidding, of course he was going to be hungover for the whole weekend!

Seeing as Adelaide had elected themselves to host the Singlespeed Nationals for this year, the important decision between flying or road tripping had to be made early on, though bearing in mind our experience last year we decided the road trip would be the easiest option.

Firstly however, a word of advice:

When thinking of embarking on an 8-10 hour road trip, never underestimate how truly long and truly boring that 8-10 hour drive can actually be - especially when it is Melbourne-Adelaide. Some places can be deceivingly "easy" to drive to due to the interesting terrain and countryside around you. However, the journey from Melbourne to Adelaide is in no way shape or form what you would call "easy". Having said that, we did manage to see the charm in a number of small country towns along the way where we sampled many a vanilla slice, hot pies and terrible, terrible coffee.

In fact, one petrol station in a little town we stopped at impressed us with their product diversification with a sign in the window proudly stating that they were licensed to sell ammunition - which is good to know when you're filling a car with petrol.

After crossing the border, we realised there was still a solid 4 hours of driving and Dave and I briefly discussed whether it was worth being sober for the remainder of the journey. And I do mean briefly - in fact, enough time to stop at a bottle shop.

Dave took the opportunity to indulge in a 6-pack of his favorite "Pink Cadillac" shots.

And shortly after...

The campsite was quite obviously the closest one to the event, with every second car or van loaded up with bikes. Most of the convoy arrived in Adelaide by Friday afternoon and although folks were a little wary-eyed after the long drive, the excitement levels slowly began to creep up as we speculated on what the trails were going to be like and which weirdos from last year were going to be at the event.

Though as you're probably thinking with this photo, we probably shouldn't have been worrying about "other weirdos"...

Arriving at the site for the event on Saturday morning, we rocked up to the Eagle MTB Park that we had heard so much about. Based around an old quarry, the site is similar to You Yangs but is in a much more natural and picturesque setting, with longer and more rolling trails.

Prior to the race kicking off, we headed out for a quick scout of the course to see what was in store for us. In the week leading up to the event, I had been asking anyone who had previously ridden Eagle Park what tyres we should be running. With confidence, I was informed to run something fast-rolling with minimal tread, as the trails were supposedly nice hard pack dirt without too much loose stuff. Taking the advice on board, I fitted some nice 'n' wide low profile tyres in preparation for the race, though shortly round after the first 50m of trail that I was going to be severely undergunned...

Much to everyones disdain, the race kicked off with a Le Mans style start. Really, anyone who thinks that a mountain bike race should be commenced by a run should be beaten around the head with a White Industries freewheel.
Standing around on the start line, a few familiar faces called out and we had a brief chance to chat before the air horn blew and we were running off to find our bikes.

The course was a 5km loop that included some beautifully smooth singletrack as well as some steep and loose descents that kept everyone on their toes. The course was a great mix of flowy and technical, though I was definitely second-guessing my tyre choice on the loose areas. Mind you I can't complain too much, as they were very fast, just my problem was that they were fast in pretty much every direction.

One area of this years event that was causing some controversy was the so-called "Onion Cut". For those familiar with the running of a Singlespeed race, you'll know that at some point during the course there is a diversion through a tent that allows you to take a substantial short cut. The only catch is that in that tent, you have to consume a can of beer before you can continue, thus providing you with a choice of shortcut + a belly full of fizzing beer, or the longer route with less chance of being sick.

For Adelaide 2011 however, licensing rules wouldn't permit the consumption of alcohol as part of the race, so the event organisers changed the tent to the Onion Cut. The premise was the same, but instead of beer, you had to cut a whole onion that would contribute to the post-race BBQ. Pretty lame right?

Well that's what I thought, and there was no way I was going to ride any less to cut onions after driving 8 damn hours to get to the event.

As the race went on, I noticed that there was a lot of beer drinking occurring at the Onion Cut, and not a lot of cutting onions. Being the naive idiot I am, I realised by the 4th lap that the so-called Onion Cut was a clever ploy to cover for the Beer Cut!

I won't go into detail about the race results as it doesn't really matter at a SS event, though all the crew seemed to love the trails and best of all no one ended up in hospital this year - though Mat gave it a good crack with a decent "off" on his last lap.

Post-race involved a dirty BBQ feed with everyone keen to get all those precious nutrients back into their bodies, as well as all the novelty evens like the Longest Skid Competition and the classic Huffy Toss - all very serious stuff!

If anyone is thinking of hitting up the trails over in Adelaide, I couldn't recommend it enough as all of us thoroughly enjoyed the trails on offer at Eagle MTB Park.

All in all we had a pretty damn good weekend of riding, drinking lots of Coopers and South Australian wine and sampling pretty much every type of take away meal available between Melbourne and Adelaide. Thanks to all the crew for making it such a fun trip and can't wait to do it again next year... though I may fly next time...

Entries Are Open: Gravity 12 Hour

Although it might seem like a long way away, entries have just opened for the 2011 Gravity 12 Hour and we are getting a bit fired up for it. Held on private land in Rosewhite in the Victorian high country, the Gravity 12 is by far the best enduro on the Victorian calendar and one not to be missed. Last year was an absolute blast with a large MM crew throwing down laps, beers and laughs throughout the weekend with everyone coming away with ear to ear smiles. We are hoping to make 2011 just as fun and also hope to encourage even more people to get into a team and have a go, as no matter what your speed or ability, the Gravity is a great place to start. Great atmosphere, great organisers, great participants and set in a beautiful location.


Like last year we will be heading up on the Friday afternoon to setup My Mountain Race HQ (think tents, esky, BBQ) and camp Fri/ Sat night. So block out Nov 4-6 in your diary and come join the MM crew get dirty, rip up some trails and have a few beers….. Also like last year we will be helping to organise people into teams and will be doing something extra special with our Secret Singletrack Society members so watch this space. If you already know you are keen to join us send an email to mark@mymountain.com.au as he will be coordinating the festivities.

Cyclocross Melbourne - It's only weird the first time

The buz around Melbourne town has been cyclocross all year. From its inception into the Melbourne cycling scene last winter, everyone knew it was going to kick off in 2011 and the prolog at Brunswick didn't disappoint.

Having never raced cyclocross before I was both excited and apprehensive when the lads at My Mountain handed me my brand new Santacruz cyclocross bike and waved me good luck. “Shouldn’t I at least take it out for a practice run first”? “No you’ll be right” came the answer from Jerry as he stacked two full esky’s of beer onto a trailer for our short ride to the Brunswick velodrome. I was wondering if it would be possible for the MM crew to get through that much Belgium beer, but time would prove it wouldn’t be a problem. All gone ¾ through the night. The race was to be randomly divided into heats with each race lasting 5 laps around the sandy, muddy, smelly course. The guys at Dirty Deeds seemed to truck in cow pat water to wet the course to an appropriate amount for this mud festival of riding. Boy did it stink!



Photo thanks to Timoty Arch Photography



So after a Belgium beer or two I decided a warm up lap was in order as I wasn’t quite sure about how well or poorly these funky little Schwalbe Racing Ralphs would go hooking around muddy corners. But to be fair I didn’t really have a go on these warm up laps, but instead just cruised around enjoying the atmosphere while trying not to focus on the smell. It wouldn’t be until the first corner of the my first race that I would work out just how well those skinny little knobby tyres would in fact grip on a high speed, muddy, slippery corners. I won’t lie though and will admit as I hooked high on the velodrome track before swinging infield towards this first corner I was thinking to myself…”there is no way I am going to stay up-right at this speed, oh well hopefully I won’t be the only one to eat it hard on the first corer”. But I didn’t eat it, it was fantastic and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Well that isn’t entirely true as the white, wooden fence I was approaching very fast took care of that. I mean how fast can you dismount a bike, keep running and jump an obstacle at the same time? Turns out quite fast! Next job was then to jump back on and get on the gas as hard as possible and try to get some speed out of the soggy ground before staring down the barrel of the infamous sandpit.

The sandpit had claimed its fair share of victims and as the night went on the sand pit technicians got more and more ambitious with how many and how high the sand piles would be. There was no coincidence this was in front of the main spectating stand as it produced many of the nights spectator uproars. Once through the sandpit there was one more fence and a couple of mud pits to negotiate before the first lap was done. While I can remember the first lap blow by blow the remaining four were a blur of fun and laughter while tearing my lungs out. And as I rolled up to the crew behind the fence I was handed another tasty Belgium refreshment. What a night!

Thanks Dirty Deeds for bringing the amazing culture of Cyclocross to Melbourne. Thanks for keeping it fun and giving us old bike heads a new experience. Can’t wait for the next one.

Dirty Deeds Cyclocross Prologue this Friday Night!

You may have heard the buzz going around at the moment about the new Cyclocross race series in Melbourne; the Dirty Deeds CX Series. Back in 2011 for it's second series, last year was proof that Cyclocross could work down under, and this year it's set to reach a new level with more and more riders getting into the Winter sport.

If you're not familiar with Cyclocross, it's a sort of off-road style of racing that takes place on specific bikes that look similar to road bikes, though use nobby tyres for use on dirt, mud and gravel as well as stronger brakes and lower gearing. Due to the small nature of the course as well as the usually muddy conditions, Cyclocross is a fantastic spectator sport whether you're a bike fanatic or not.

This Friday night is the prologue event for the 4-part Dirty Deeds Series and is set to take place at the Brunswick Velodrome on Harrison Street. Kicking off at 7pm, there will be racing, crashing, mud, beer drinking, heckling, more mud, more crashing and a bit more (responsible) beer drinking. You can turn up on any old bike and race the open category, or bring your CX pride and joy to race with the big boys.
Speaking of, we will have both Mat Gray and Mark Travers racing their new Santa Cruz Stigmata Cyclocross Bikes and representing My Mountain on the night, so come on down to show some support (or heckling) with us.

You can check out the details here: Dirty Deeds CX

And check out the beautiful Santa Cruz Stigmata bike here.

SSS Social Ride on Sunday 10th April

We've had a great start to the Secret Singletrack Society for 2011, with many My Mountaineers jumping on the opportunity to join up and get in on some VIP action.

Our launch night with the World Bicycle Relief fundraiser was a roaring success, with $450 raised for the charity that will see 4 extra bikes out there for some very deserved recipients.

The first weekend ride out at Forest was a great day out on the trails, with great weather and perfect trail conditions for all to enjoy. For those keen to relive the action or see just what you missed out on, one of our locals, Troy, got some great helmet cam footage of the ride.

Check it out here.

Our next weekend social ride for the SSS has been scheduled for Sunday April 10th. We will be emailing out details to all SSS members closer to the date, and if you're keen though unsure if you qualify for the SSS membership, don't hesitate to give us a call or email and we will see if you're eligible.

And finally, thanks to those who came out last night for our Shop Ride Finale, despite the grey skies. The rain managed to hold off, and we were able to enjoy some surprisingly dry trails and a stellar pub feed at the Peacock Inn Hotel afterwards!