So the Giant Anthem is getting a little long in the tooth and is starting to cost me more in repairs than it's worth. Also I'm finding that is ust not cut out to do what I want it to do. Don;t get me wrong it's still an AWESOME bike but I need to move on.
So test bike time. This time around I have a little bit of an idea of what I'm doing so rather than walking into the bike shop and going yeah that will do I'm doing a lot of research on my options and doing a lot of test rides before handing over a big wad of cash ( which I don't have anyway).
So this weeks weapon of choice was the YETI SB66. All the reviews on it rave about it. First impressions it's white and it's a bike. And that's about it. Runs a 2 X 10 setup with out a bash guard which I found strange considering it's meant to be an All Mountain bike. 6 inch travel with a FOx up front and an RP23 in the rear.
(Stupidly I took no photos of it DOH!)
So first ride was a spin around Daisy to get it all setup and get a feel for it. Going up the first hill I wasn't impressed, It felt heavy and sluggish but at the same time very responsive when you mashed the pedals. Now a lot of this could be the fact that it was a medium frame but that's what I had to ride so. After mucking around with the fork setting I started getting a bit more out of it and was desperately missing my dropper post. Hitting up the water bars adn a few drop offs this thing just floated it was so stable in the landings so inspired confidence but at the same time I had trouble getting used to lifting the front up due to the weight so any jumps which I was used to chucking the anthem thru was hard work on the YETI. So I left Daisy feeling uninspired by the whole affair but first ride on a 6 inch travel bike we'll hold final judgement on it for now.
Saturday afternoon was test ride number 2. The location Cornubia forest. I had higher hopes for the Yeti in here and wasn't disappointed. Again climbing was hard work and I hate climbing at the best of times. But coming down Wallum Froglet was a HOOT the bike was so much more solid than the anthem so feeling good I went for the Jump and well lets just say I had an encounter with the rocky wall after the jump. Again the weight and travel of the bike got me and I ended up whacking my leg and arm into the wall. So after laughing thru the pain I dusted myself and went onward thru the tricky tight and fast section that is the bottom fo Wallum. The bike just felt good thru here and I was starting to warm to beast. After a run down ressurection and Stupidly The Yeti was starting to look better but still something wasn't quite right about it. I'm not overly impressed with the brakes. 180 F & R with Deore XT calipers. Don't have the grip of the Elixirs on the anthem withe 200 front rotor. But I was loving the rear deraillieur and the 2 X 10 setup although a Bash guard is a must for me these days.
By the end of Ressurrection decided to start smashing into the logs rather than jump over them and the forks just glidewd over them with ease which is quite impressive. I like 6 inch travel!
Next stop the mighty YARRABILBA. Now this is where I really need the six inches and was time to really test the YETI out. We did our usual fast warm up track and it was feeling good. So off to the rough stuff we headed. I think I finally had the settings right for me , Nice and soft. I started pushing it a bit to see how it handled. And it stepped up nicely after smashing down the "Quarter Mile" which is a fun rough, if you choose the right lines, bit of fireroad down from the top of the hill. The Yeti was starting to do what it was supposed to do. But again as we climbed up to the next track I was feeling it lacked something for me. After a few more big rocky decents which the Yeti just swallowed up we got to "Super Sketchys". Now this is an awesome bit of track, MENTAL but awesome.
Sketchys is a 600m or so track with about 90m of decent fireroad. Now when I first rode it it was a groomed but very rocky track but was very uniform in its rockiness so you just pointed and shot down it just hanging on and letting the bike do the work. But now it's a nightmare inducing jumble of rocks of varying sizes, drop offs, logs and 4 x 4 wheel ruts. Making it an amazing adrenaline filled 6 minutes of terror as you hold on for dear life trying to avoid the larger rocks and ditches while attempting to steer whike your wheels are bouncing a foot each adn every way without notice. BUT oh my god what a hoot it is. It has to be one of the most technical trails around and it's a fireroad. And every time we go back out it gets worse. The Yeti soaked it up as best it could using every inch of travel available but even an 8 inch Downhill monster would have trouble tracking down there.
SO in conclusion what do I think of the Yeti? Well it's a great bike and it absolutely loved being abused on the rocks but is it for me. No it just didn't yell at me "I'm the one" Maybe a lot of this was because it's the first 6 inch travel bike I've ridden and that it was a medium frame. Oh well the search will continue.
Forgot to say a shout out and huge thanks to Tim and the FTR shop for letting em ride the Yeti and to everyone who joined me for the weekends riding.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Friday, 18 May 2012
Mount Joyce NOT so choice
A few weeks ago we headed out to MT joyce at Wyaralong dam for mountain biking hijinks. For those who have had their heads buried for the last 12 months or don't ride a montain bike (why are you reading this then :P). Mount Joyce is a Government built recreational facility with Mountain bikes track, horse riding, motorbike facility and camping etc....
First up was a ride along the Shoreline trail thru to Hidden valley. Sadly along the way we rode past the once great fun 4X track which is now a washed aaway mess with ences all around it. Was this a sign of things to come? The Shoreline trail is a nice little warm up track along the Shoreline ( Funnily enough) which has now overgrown quite a bit. Which is a shame because it used to be quite fun riding side by side and jumping all the hidden little jumps on the side of the track.
From the Valley we head up the GRUELING fireroad and headed towards the bottom of Big Bertha for the final climb to the top. A climb which I have become all too familiar with. FINALLY we got to the TOP. So now the fun begins!
Now I'd been warned that Bovine Groove was a little overgrown. BUT what I didn't expect was the TOTAL NEGLECTED TRAIL that used to be world class. The top half of Bovine is now a mess with the corners barely visible making it a dangerous adventure. I ended up leading the group down the hill which was worse because I couldn't see SHIT!
Now don't get me wrong it is still an AWESOME track but compared to what it used to be it is rubbish. All the little offline rocks, drop offs, jumps etc are now invisible. Which means they are now hazards for those straying off the line. Now I know the XC guys and gals probably enjoy the new track as there is now a "LINE" to ride down. But me I hate it compared it's former self because there is only the "Line" which takes out the fun of downhill. Which for me is all about finding your own line and challenging yourself to hit new technical features each time down.
Next up was Seargents (DROOOOOOLLLL). Seargents is a Black diamond Downhill track. ( Which means it's pretty technical). I'd been hanging out to hit this track again for months and finally I got the chance. The track has changed quite a bit since we first rode it with some sections getting a lot more tricky and other sections becoming a LOT easier. but what a HOOT.
I went out to Seargents a few months ago with some mates to take pics of the proper Downhill boys riding it properly.
These boys were amazing to watch up close. Big shout out to the boys of DRCC and DFH bike clubs.
So next up was Black Rock, probably my favourite track in MT Joyce, as it combines a long track with a lot of technical features. Now soem fool ( may or may not ave been me) Suggested going up the back road to Black rock. Got to be easier then the full climb to the top right??? NO!!!!! It's a big push up a steeper hill. BUT it was shorter.
Now I'm so glad to say that Black Rock is Superb still, Only a few sections where the bush is taking over the track and none of the features have been dumbed down at all.
Video I took a while ago of Black Rock.
https://vimeo.com/27506081
After Black rock we were stuffed so off for home we went after the 5km ride out and a feed at the obligitory hamburger joint.
So Why is Mt Joyce not so choice?
I was away from home a total of 8 Hours.
I rode a total of less than 30minutes of fun single track riding.
I rode a total of 22kms with less than 5 kms of that actual "Fun" riding.
So 8 hours for 30 minutes of riding on overgrown neglected tracks. No thanks. I'll stick to hitting up the local tracks. Wallum Froglet- 30 min drive, 12 minute up hill 6 minutes Down. And the track is as good if not better than those at Mt Joyce.
Bottom Line Mount Joyce it's been fun but we are thru. Unless of course they bring back the gravity enduro. :)
Pump track News: The track got a real work out last weekend with 12 screaming 8 year olds running and riding all over it. End result Jacob's Dad is the Coolest! (Little do they know).
Bike News: I'm almost over the Giant, it's not built for what I want to do with it. SO I'm on the look out for a new bike and have my first test bike this weekend. Which is probably why I'm up at 5 am writing this wasting time before a ride in Daisy on the Test bike. More on that to come.
Quote of the week: There are 2 types of Mountain bikers- Those that like riding up hills also known as Closet Roadies and those that ONLY ride up so they can go down!
First up was a ride along the Shoreline trail thru to Hidden valley. Sadly along the way we rode past the once great fun 4X track which is now a washed aaway mess with ences all around it. Was this a sign of things to come? The Shoreline trail is a nice little warm up track along the Shoreline ( Funnily enough) which has now overgrown quite a bit. Which is a shame because it used to be quite fun riding side by side and jumping all the hidden little jumps on the side of the track.
Now I'd been warned that Bovine Groove was a little overgrown. BUT what I didn't expect was the TOTAL NEGLECTED TRAIL that used to be world class. The top half of Bovine is now a mess with the corners barely visible making it a dangerous adventure. I ended up leading the group down the hill which was worse because I couldn't see SHIT!
Now don't get me wrong it is still an AWESOME track but compared to what it used to be it is rubbish. All the little offline rocks, drop offs, jumps etc are now invisible. Which means they are now hazards for those straying off the line. Now I know the XC guys and gals probably enjoy the new track as there is now a "LINE" to ride down. But me I hate it compared it's former self because there is only the "Line" which takes out the fun of downhill. Which for me is all about finding your own line and challenging yourself to hit new technical features each time down.
Next up was Seargents (DROOOOOOLLLL). Seargents is a Black diamond Downhill track. ( Which means it's pretty technical). I'd been hanging out to hit this track again for months and finally I got the chance. The track has changed quite a bit since we first rode it with some sections getting a lot more tricky and other sections becoming a LOT easier. but what a HOOT.
I went out to Seargents a few months ago with some mates to take pics of the proper Downhill boys riding it properly.
These boys were amazing to watch up close. Big shout out to the boys of DRCC and DFH bike clubs.
So next up was Black Rock, probably my favourite track in MT Joyce, as it combines a long track with a lot of technical features. Now soem fool ( may or may not ave been me) Suggested going up the back road to Black rock. Got to be easier then the full climb to the top right??? NO!!!!! It's a big push up a steeper hill. BUT it was shorter.
Now I'm so glad to say that Black Rock is Superb still, Only a few sections where the bush is taking over the track and none of the features have been dumbed down at all.
Video I took a while ago of Black Rock.
https://vimeo.com/27506081
After Black rock we were stuffed so off for home we went after the 5km ride out and a feed at the obligitory hamburger joint.
So Why is Mt Joyce not so choice?
I was away from home a total of 8 Hours.
I rode a total of less than 30minutes of fun single track riding.
I rode a total of 22kms with less than 5 kms of that actual "Fun" riding.
So 8 hours for 30 minutes of riding on overgrown neglected tracks. No thanks. I'll stick to hitting up the local tracks. Wallum Froglet- 30 min drive, 12 minute up hill 6 minutes Down. And the track is as good if not better than those at Mt Joyce.
Bottom Line Mount Joyce it's been fun but we are thru. Unless of course they bring back the gravity enduro. :)
Pump track News: The track got a real work out last weekend with 12 screaming 8 year olds running and riding all over it. End result Jacob's Dad is the Coolest! (Little do they know).
Bike News: I'm almost over the Giant, it's not built for what I want to do with it. SO I'm on the look out for a new bike and have my first test bike this weekend. Which is probably why I'm up at 5 am writing this wasting time before a ride in Daisy on the Test bike. More on that to come.
Quote of the week: There are 2 types of Mountain bikers- Those that like riding up hills also known as Closet Roadies and those that ONLY ride up so they can go down!
Monday, 30 April 2012
Big Boys weekend.
Last weekend me and Craig headed North for a Biking get away.
So off we headed Saturday afternon. First stop our addequate accommadation only minutes from Parklands, in Yandina.
Quick cahnge and we were headed forParklands. I'd ridden there once previously and had mainly done the South eastern corner of the park and loved it. This tie around we decided to hit up the northern corner. Well we found hills and more hills. " Road Rage" is Hard technical climbs followed by short fun downhill sections. Too short for my liking. But they some great riding to be had. Except for the fact that is mostly sub tropical surroundings. Which is beautiful to look at and ride thru but STINKING hot in the afternoon.
We ended up making our way out near dark via " Ho Chi Hoe".
Garmin track for the day.
Posties is a Downhill track built by Downhill From Here. Now I looked at all the pics and videos and thought "Yeah we'll be right we can do that".
As you arrive you are greeted with a 20% decent tarmac road with Waterbars which the car struggled to get down without frying the brakes. Wow if thats the road what's the track like?
Well.... OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!! This place is CRAZY!. This steps up the difficulty level by a hundred fold. I quickly realised we had the wrong bikes, pedals, skills, helmets and Gonad size for this place. The last jump is a 10 foot drop road gap. WOW! ( Unforunately all my pics failed)
SO after an hour of watching in awe and scoping out a bit fo the track it was decided that it wasn't for us. Not at $60 a head to try it out. So off we went with Plan B Hennessey's Hill Beerburrum.
Hennessey's is anoter Downhill track with a road right next to it making it ideal for shuttles. As we arrived a Father and Son do were about to head down for a run and after a quick chat we had a shuttle piloted by there Wife/ Mother ( I think). What a score!
Hennessey's was a lot more up our alley with many alternate lines and lacking the mental steepness of Posties it was a challenge without being too over our heads. End result we ended up doing 7 runs down each time attempting a new obstacle or line to try and get quicker and smoother down.
So the weekend didn't turn out quite as planned but as good as hoped. WIth a greuling ride around Parklands Saturday, First Geocache find, Then checking out what has to the premiere Downhill track in queensland, to taking on a recognised DH track at Hennessey's with my first ever shuttle runs. ( except the gondola at Queenstown).
Got to love Mountain Biking!
So off we headed Saturday afternon. First stop our addequate accommadation only minutes from Parklands, in Yandina.
Quick cahnge and we were headed forParklands. I'd ridden there once previously and had mainly done the South eastern corner of the park and loved it. This tie around we decided to hit up the northern corner. Well we found hills and more hills. " Road Rage" is Hard technical climbs followed by short fun downhill sections. Too short for my liking. But they some great riding to be had. Except for the fact that is mostly sub tropical surroundings. Which is beautiful to look at and ride thru but STINKING hot in the afternoon.
Next after a grueling climb to the power line junction. We hit up "Cancer tree" WOW what a hoot. Started off with a flying 35km/hr+ bolt down the ride line then into a loose gravel rocky decent. Now that was more like it. From there we headed UP AND UP again thru rock and roll and onto the southern end. Wher we promptly got stuck into some flowy XC type trails and got lost.We ended up making our way out near dark via " Ho Chi Hoe".
Garmin track for the day.
The adventures continued into the night when we were waiting for pizzas we decided to see if we could find a Geocache located about 2km away in a Parking area off the highway. So armed with a set of bike lights and an iPhone for navigation we headed into the bush next to a busy parking camping area ( did we look suss or what!) So after ten minutes of searching we found this underneath a log.
Sunday came aorund and we decided ot head back to Parklands for a play on "Ho Chi Hoe" and "Lower NZ". Then off to test our skills at "Posties".Posties is a Downhill track built by Downhill From Here. Now I looked at all the pics and videos and thought "Yeah we'll be right we can do that".
As you arrive you are greeted with a 20% decent tarmac road with Waterbars which the car struggled to get down without frying the brakes. Wow if thats the road what's the track like?
Well.... OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!! This place is CRAZY!. This steps up the difficulty level by a hundred fold. I quickly realised we had the wrong bikes, pedals, skills, helmets and Gonad size for this place. The last jump is a 10 foot drop road gap. WOW! ( Unforunately all my pics failed)
SO after an hour of watching in awe and scoping out a bit fo the track it was decided that it wasn't for us. Not at $60 a head to try it out. So off we went with Plan B Hennessey's Hill Beerburrum.
Hennessey's is anoter Downhill track with a road right next to it making it ideal for shuttles. As we arrived a Father and Son do were about to head down for a run and after a quick chat we had a shuttle piloted by there Wife/ Mother ( I think). What a score!
Hennessey's was a lot more up our alley with many alternate lines and lacking the mental steepness of Posties it was a challenge without being too over our heads. End result we ended up doing 7 runs down each time attempting a new obstacle or line to try and get quicker and smoother down.
So the weekend didn't turn out quite as planned but as good as hoped. WIth a greuling ride around Parklands Saturday, First Geocache find, Then checking out what has to the premiere Downhill track in queensland, to taking on a recognised DH track at Hennessey's with my first ever shuttle runs. ( except the gondola at Queenstown).
Got to love Mountain Biking!
Friday, 20 April 2012
I'm Back
Ok so I'm back and a lot has been happening. Every Saturday has seen the construction of a new MTB track in Cornubia forest by a bunch of volunteers. End result an awesome 1.7km track with 100m of decent, built by mountain bikers so there's a lot of fun stuff on the trip down. Here's Dave's video taken a few days before completion.
Pump Track Update. I got a little silly and decided to whack a BIG ASS wooden berm in. So with help from Craig we came up with this.
End result we a have a whopping big berm which mostly works. Unfortunately the berm is too big to get enough speed up to hit it perfectly. But it's still a hoot and looks cool.
MTBO News. First race was Karingal and unfortunately I'd been battling flew and sickness for a month or so. So fitness was shocking. Still raced of course and ended up getting 12th. Was really happy with my Navigation just fitness was the issue. Missed ou ont he second race at Beerburrum due to fitness and the course being 34km+ so thought it better to give it a miss. Next one is Alex Hills sprint distance so hoping for a better showing on that one.
Ride News. This weekend heading to Parklands tomorrow and hopefully Posties on Sunday.
That's it for now. Hope to update a bit more often.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Update finally
Ok so Otago is done and dusted. So It's been a very long time coming but time for an update on the whole deal.
Day 1
Flew out form Brisvegas for Christchurch, Landed there about 2:30pm and flew thru customs ( good thing about having a bike)
After getting phone sorted I found some strangers with bike boxes and jumped on the bus.
We madly rushed to get our bikes sorted and get to our first race at 4.
Day 1
Flew out form Brisvegas for Christchurch, Landed there about 2:30pm and flew thru customs ( good thing about having a bike)
After getting phone sorted I found some strangers with bike boxes and jumped on the bus.
We madly rushed to get our bikes sorted and get to our first race at 4.
The digs for the first few nights. Beware the snorers.
So the first race was a warm up event at Macleans Island Recreation area. This was a maze of fairly flat and smooth trails. Really well done for what they were as there was Bike, Horse and running trails all really welll marked and one way tracks all over the place.
I rode reasonably ok and didnt make to many mistakes, except being distracted by single tracks. which were actually quicker as the fireroads were like old train track lines and rough as guts.
Map for Maclean.
Map for Maclean was an A3 1:15,000. Just nmoticed I have the wrong map. this is the Short course map. The long used the same map but had a few extra checkpoints. And was around 18km.
Well all was going well in the race till I had a rush of blood to take over some Kiwis and ended up missing a turn off. This put me nto a sweet looking overgrown singletrack. So what was I to do but PING IT!. Until I went to go around a rose bush and ended up over the bars and in a ditch. I managed to bust me ribs again THE FIRST F$@#en DAY!!!!!!!!!!!. Anyway was a decent race and a good warm up for the week ahead.
Weird as I discovered was that it was still daylight at 10pm at night which made the 2 sets of nightlights I took completely pointless.
Anyway that will d for now I'll try and update it a race at a time.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
The Final Count Down!
Well 3 more sleeps till NZ TIME!!!!! Got my new cranks today. A set of shimano SLX twin rings with bash guard.22-36 tooth. This to go with the new cassette 11-34tooth,Rear deraillieur Short cage, new pedals and new shoes. This was done to attempt to make it more reliable. Happy days! Welll Almost!
Got the bike serviced about 5 weeks ago and had a heap of stuff suposedly fixed on it. From the day it came back the gears were playing and slipping all over the place. Result me over the top and bruised ribs. Finally over them now. Only occasional pain.
The bike hasn't felt right for a while now so I was cleaning it today egtting it ready for NZ and decided to pull the rear suspension apart. this was also "Meant" to be fixed. NOPE! One pivot Loose and the main bottom arm was MASSIVELY over tightened so wasn't moving AT ALL! So stripped it completely apart and recleaned and greased EVERYTHING. then whacked on the new cranks and Rear deraillieur, re tuned everything and WOW LOK AT THAT FULL REAR SUSPENSION AGAIN!
Amazes me how a Reputible bike shop "FOR THE RIDERS" can FUCK it up so bad!
Anyway back to the good stuff. Been reading up on where we are racing and looks like there will be some pretty awesome riding over there to be had. THEN WOW! the last race "RELAY" race is being held at a Snow farm 1500M UP! COOL can't wait for that one. Then got the final instructions tonight and there is absolute MUSIC to my Ears! and I QUOTE
"There is a downhill track from the Lodge to the bottom of the hill which may be used." I HAVE SO GOT TO HAVE A GO AT THAT!!! 1000M+ DECENT!!!
Tomorrow nights job pack the bike.
Got the bike serviced about 5 weeks ago and had a heap of stuff suposedly fixed on it. From the day it came back the gears were playing and slipping all over the place. Result me over the top and bruised ribs. Finally over them now. Only occasional pain.
The bike hasn't felt right for a while now so I was cleaning it today egtting it ready for NZ and decided to pull the rear suspension apart. this was also "Meant" to be fixed. NOPE! One pivot Loose and the main bottom arm was MASSIVELY over tightened so wasn't moving AT ALL! So stripped it completely apart and recleaned and greased EVERYTHING. then whacked on the new cranks and Rear deraillieur, re tuned everything and WOW LOK AT THAT FULL REAR SUSPENSION AGAIN!
Amazes me how a Reputible bike shop "FOR THE RIDERS" can FUCK it up so bad!
Anyway back to the good stuff. Been reading up on where we are racing and looks like there will be some pretty awesome riding over there to be had. THEN WOW! the last race "RELAY" race is being held at a Snow farm 1500M UP! COOL can't wait for that one. Then got the final instructions tonight and there is absolute MUSIC to my Ears! and I QUOTE
"There is a downhill track from the Lodge to the bottom of the hill which may be used." I HAVE SO GOT TO HAVE A GO AT THAT!!! 1000M+ DECENT!!!
Tomorrow nights job pack the bike.
Friday, 30 December 2011
The Southside Epic
Well finally it's done and dusted. What started out as an idea to link up a few of the MTB parks on the southside turned into an 82km Group ride of Epic proportions.
The idea was to go from Capalaba thru Daisy Hill, Cornubia forest, Bayview, Mt Cotton, Scribbly gum, and then back to Capalaba. Going via as much as dirt and single track as possible.
Picture does not do the hill justice. From there we hammered dwn the track past Karingal and onto Thornlands. There we ducked into Scribbly Gum for some more single track and thru to the Bike path and Home for a much needed BBQ and drinks.
The idea was to go from Capalaba thru Daisy Hill, Cornubia forest, Bayview, Mt Cotton, Scribbly gum, and then back to Capalaba. Going via as much as dirt and single track as possible.
First major stop was Daisy Hill where we picked up a few stragglers leaving the park with a total of 26 riders. I took the group down Stone Henge, Turning Japanese, Tunnel of Love, Joala Trail, Ripley's and Gillians. Before heading up the big red hill.
Next on the list was the untamed wilds of Cornubia Forest. Where we wound our way down Stupidly happy and then on to West MT Cotton Rd for some tarmac riding thru to Bayview.
Bayview was always going to be hard work. Due to its exposed tracks and the heat starting to hit. We made our way up Bensons and down Grass trees. Then up a rough climb and onto the killer climb of Doom Hippy ( hard after 40kms and some heat thrown in) Then we regrouped at the top before a split up decent down Blow and Fluffer ( probably my favourite tracks) and thru some rough stuff out onto Days rd and Lunch.
My lovely wife Michelle was good enough to put on a spread and deliver down to us for a quick lunch break and much neeeded rest before the real climbing begins.
Next challenge was the long climb up to the Mt Cotton Summit for the Eastern Escarpment "Granny Ring King Challenge". This was always as I feared the hardest part of the ride. Due to the long slow climb of around 10km along the road and the up thru the MT cotton Gardens.
At the top of the hill those with the will and the lungs to do so attempted the EE. Very Technical and steep climb which only the bravest and gutsiest of riders can make it up. As expected only Jason and Jim were up to the challenge where Jim smashed it up followed closely by Jason. Who made with only putting a foot down once. Hell of an effort for his first attempt. Althought some parties will argue that they didn't complete the true EE challenge as they only did the top section. But anyone who can make that section with 60km's on the legs is dam good in my books.
Huge thanks to all who turned up to make this a Great ride. And to my wonderful wife for getting up before the sun and getting me and the food organised.
Otago Update: 8 days to go. New bike bits have arrived- New pedals flats with clips. New shoes-A lot more grippy for running when needed, New cassette, rear deraillieur and have new Cranks on there way. Going to change to a 2 X 9 setup with a bash guard. hope it to be a bit more reliable.
NZ here we come!!! Forecast for Wanaka on the day we land is 5-16 Gunna be cold!
Friday, 23 December 2011
Yarrabilba Photo shoot
Sunday I managed to drag a couple of mates out for a spin at Yarrabilba. None of us was up for a big ride so we decided to do a photo shoot instead.
Halfway up a single track Craig spotted an obstacle we had to have a go at getting over.
Don't know why but I like this piccie
Up the top of the hill we found some fun drops amongst the boulders. I didn't realise I wasn't wearing my helmet for this one.
Another big rock Craig had to tackle. Doesn't look it but the rock is about 5 foot high. He was using all 150mm of travel so I wasn't having a go with only 100mm of travel.
This is probably the best shot of Yarrabilba I've seen. Captures the mood of the place perfectly. Rocky and side by side riding. Choose your own adventure.
And one of my dodgy Pics This track is really steep and now has the nickname os S.A.B.I.P. Steering and braking is pointless.
Hope you enjoy the pics. All the good ones are Gav's. More here More Pictures Here.
Update for the Epic. Only for those that read this. Shhhhhhhhhhhh
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Duck Creek Rd Kerry
Sunday saw a group of us heading up Duck Creek rd Kerry. After a foggy drive down this is the view which waited us as we headed off.
Andrew aka Hootsman ( All shots courtesy of him)enjoying the friendly and persistant birds at the Cafe at the top. Pancakes were the order of the day but the milkshake is not advisable when you've got 18km to go back down.
A Beautiful shot of one of the trees at the lookout halfway up.
The sign at the main lookout which spells the end of the main climbing sections.
Troy doing his Superman inpersonation at the lookout.
The view from the top over Oreilly's farm.
The crew at the bottom. After the high speed decent, we decided to have an impromptu road race. Which really hurt the legs averaging over 35km/hr for the last 10 minutes immitating roadies.
Thanks to Jason for putting it together always a good ride and challenging ride. And to Andrew for the use of his piccies. I was on Video duty. And to everyne else for an enjoyable ride.
Last thoughts- BRING ON NZ!!!!! After a 60km ride Friday and then Duck creek rd Sunday I finally feel ready for NZ and The Southside Epic.
The first few climbs are quite a battle. With a 1000m of climbing over around 14km with road adding a further 4km to get to Oreilly's
Last thoughts- BRING ON NZ!!!!! After a 60km ride Friday and then Duck creek rd Sunday I finally feel ready for NZ and The Southside Epic.
Monday, 5 December 2011
The week so far
It appears that I have done some real damage to my ribs after the Explore ride. Don't think they are cracked or broken just badly bruised. So that's making life farken hard.
So didn't get a lot of riding in last week.
Did a 25km explore /night ride at Scribbly gum. About 3km of which was repeats over a set of jumps, a natural bowl we found and a really technical log roll over ( nearly 4 foot high).
Some really cool little tracks in there. Little being the word, at night they are quite hard to follow because they are quite fast and narrow. This was almost my last ride as the chain slipped on the way back home at around 35km/hr I got up to give it some and came very close to coming off straight into a park bench. That would have really hurt.
I finished off the routing for "The Southside Epic" on Sunday with a 32km explore ride between West Mt Cotton Rd and Mt Cotton rd. Turns out the road that is meant to be "isn't". Ended up getting lost and found my way thru to Karingal where I got abused by some old guy for tresspassing. Sorry I didn't mean to get here and I didn't pass a gate or any signs so BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Then went up Wodlands drive to Thornlands and thru the tracks and bike path back home. There's a really cool track thru to the path I am taking everyone on. The epic is now around 85km long and around 1400m of climbing!
We are having a pump track competition afterwards to crown "The Pump Daddy" Trophy winner. If I lose on home soil I'll never live it down.
Now scarily enough I've started thinking of the next big ride and it will be HUGE!!!!!. More details next year.
Only 4 and a bit weeks to go till NZ. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
Thought of the week... Apparently trying to shoulder barge big thick trees out of the way while riding can be painful.....Might be better to try and avoid them in future I'm thinking...
So didn't get a lot of riding in last week.
Did a 25km explore /night ride at Scribbly gum. About 3km of which was repeats over a set of jumps, a natural bowl we found and a really technical log roll over ( nearly 4 foot high).
Some really cool little tracks in there. Little being the word, at night they are quite hard to follow because they are quite fast and narrow. This was almost my last ride as the chain slipped on the way back home at around 35km/hr I got up to give it some and came very close to coming off straight into a park bench. That would have really hurt.
I finished off the routing for "The Southside Epic" on Sunday with a 32km explore ride between West Mt Cotton Rd and Mt Cotton rd. Turns out the road that is meant to be "isn't". Ended up getting lost and found my way thru to Karingal where I got abused by some old guy for tresspassing. Sorry I didn't mean to get here and I didn't pass a gate or any signs so BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Then went up Wodlands drive to Thornlands and thru the tracks and bike path back home. There's a really cool track thru to the path I am taking everyone on. The epic is now around 85km long and around 1400m of climbing!
We are having a pump track competition afterwards to crown "The Pump Daddy" Trophy winner. If I lose on home soil I'll never live it down.
Now scarily enough I've started thinking of the next big ride and it will be HUGE!!!!!. More details next year.
Only 4 and a bit weeks to go till NZ. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
Thought of the week... Apparently trying to shoulder barge big thick trees out of the way while riding can be painful.....Might be better to try and avoid them in future I'm thinking...
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Video from the Explore ride
Heres a cool video that one of the riders from last Sundays exploration ride has put together.
Nice work Dave
http://youtu.be/i7ttlvsuj6E
Nice work Dave
http://youtu.be/i7ttlvsuj6E
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Training has begun
So training has begun properly this week.
Schedule this week was-
Tuesday- 20km road ride to Daisy and back and 1 hour pump track
Wednesday- 17km group ride around Daisy hill
Thursday- Just weights at night
Friday-20km Explore ride to Scribbly gum
Saturday- 27km Explore again of Scribbly via a road loop to enter from the south entrance
Sunday- 51.5km EPIC ride.
Total for the week- 138km and I'm stuffed now.
So today's ride was all about working out the link routes between the different mtb tracks around the place. We started at cornubia and then over to Bayview. Steep dam hills there. Then over to Mt View rd at Mt Cotton where the hills turned into MOUNTAINS!!!!!!!!!!!
We then did a loop of Karingal XC course, Yet MORE DAM climbing hills.
Then over to Daisy where we went straight for the exit up Red hill and back over to Cornubia.
Where I had a gumby stack, Chain slipped as I gave it some welly and straight over the top and flat on my face. Bit scratched up but the worst part was the buckle on the backpack jammed itself into my ribs and am now quite sore.
Then we headed down resurrection in Cornubia forest and back to the cars and a much needed swim.
Ended up doing 51.5km and over 1000m of climbing over a period of 6.5 hours in the heat.
Day off tommorrow and back into again on Tuesday.
Schedule this week was-
Tuesday- 20km road ride to Daisy and back and 1 hour pump track
Wednesday- 17km group ride around Daisy hill
Thursday- Just weights at night
Friday-20km Explore ride to Scribbly gum
Saturday- 27km Explore again of Scribbly via a road loop to enter from the south entrance
Sunday- 51.5km EPIC ride.
Total for the week- 138km and I'm stuffed now.
So today's ride was all about working out the link routes between the different mtb tracks around the place. We started at cornubia and then over to Bayview. Steep dam hills there. Then over to Mt View rd at Mt Cotton where the hills turned into MOUNTAINS!!!!!!!!!!!
We then did a loop of Karingal XC course, Yet MORE DAM climbing hills.
Then over to Daisy where we went straight for the exit up Red hill and back over to Cornubia.
Where I had a gumby stack, Chain slipped as I gave it some welly and straight over the top and flat on my face. Bit scratched up but the worst part was the buckle on the backpack jammed itself into my ribs and am now quite sore.
Then we headed down resurrection in Cornubia forest and back to the cars and a much needed swim.
Ended up doing 51.5km and over 1000m of climbing over a period of 6.5 hours in the heat.
Day off tommorrow and back into again on Tuesday.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Update time
Well Sunday was an ABSOLUTE BLAST!
Imagine going for a ride with 90 mates. Al feeling the pain of the climb to the top of Mt Joyce, then one by one SCREAMING down it as fast as possible. Was such an amazing event. It fits in between the Serious Down Hill events and the Cross country events and combines a mixture of the two. A lot of riding skill is needed to decend quickly but a lot of fitness was also needed to be able to get down Quick!
i came in at 10th in C-grade which I was reasonably happy with. I can go a lot faster which annoyed me, but my legs just weren't 100% which really Pissed me off. Anyway was a great Event and I hpe they can get the series off the ground next year.
Alrighty Decided yesterday that I really need to get fitter so proper training for Otago has begun. Did a 20km road ride this morning with the dualie and Knobbly tyres. Was quite amusing chasing down the roadies. Then did a 1 hour Pump track session.
Pump Track Update
AWESOME. I can now average 10km/hr around it consistently both ways with ZERO pedalling ALL PUMP BABY!. Got a top speed tonight of 16.8 which is about max speed for the track and my bike.
Really got the hang f it now and am at the point where I'm accellerating out of the bottom berm going up hill.
Anyways thats it for now. Planning on doing a ride in the morning at Daisy and a Biggy on Sunday all over the redlands, about 40km.
Imagine going for a ride with 90 mates. Al feeling the pain of the climb to the top of Mt Joyce, then one by one SCREAMING down it as fast as possible. Was such an amazing event. It fits in between the Serious Down Hill events and the Cross country events and combines a mixture of the two. A lot of riding skill is needed to decend quickly but a lot of fitness was also needed to be able to get down Quick!
i came in at 10th in C-grade which I was reasonably happy with. I can go a lot faster which annoyed me, but my legs just weren't 100% which really Pissed me off. Anyway was a great Event and I hpe they can get the series off the ground next year.
Alrighty Decided yesterday that I really need to get fitter so proper training for Otago has begun. Did a 20km road ride this morning with the dualie and Knobbly tyres. Was quite amusing chasing down the roadies. Then did a 1 hour Pump track session.
Pump Track Update
AWESOME. I can now average 10km/hr around it consistently both ways with ZERO pedalling ALL PUMP BABY!. Got a top speed tonight of 16.8 which is about max speed for the track and my bike.
Really got the hang f it now and am at the point where I'm accellerating out of the bottom berm going up hill.
Anyways thats it for now. Planning on doing a ride in the morning at Daisy and a Biggy on Sunday all over the redlands, about 40km.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
The weeks Riding
So this week , well last week I managed a few different rides.
Did a 20km night ride at Nerang. Great fun the place has some serious hills which suck going up but fun going down. There's also a heap of Trail features there, bridges, log rolovers, drop offs etc etc. The beauty of going at night is you don't have time to think about it just hit it and hope. Which is great cause you don't second guess yourself.
Saturday I did a 20km Daisy ride nothing special just testing out my Toy a RockShox Reverb Seat dropper post. Means I can press a button on my handlebars and drop or raise the seat hieght on the fly. Works FANTASTIC!!!!!
Sunday we Hit up Mt Joyce again This time we did Bovine then Sergeants then Bovine again. Starting to really get the hang of bvine now which is a really fast track with a heap of tech stuff. But after 11 minutes you are absolutely Buggered!
Bikes going in for a good service Tomorrow arvo ( better get it back Friday or I'll be pissed) Then taking on my first Down Hill Race event on Sunday. Still very wary of Sergeants but I'll take my time on it to get down safely then PING it down Bovine and Black rock to try make up some time.
54 or something like that Sleeps till Otago!!!!!!!!!!!
Did a 20km night ride at Nerang. Great fun the place has some serious hills which suck going up but fun going down. There's also a heap of Trail features there, bridges, log rolovers, drop offs etc etc. The beauty of going at night is you don't have time to think about it just hit it and hope. Which is great cause you don't second guess yourself.
Saturday I did a 20km Daisy ride nothing special just testing out my Toy a RockShox Reverb Seat dropper post. Means I can press a button on my handlebars and drop or raise the seat hieght on the fly. Works FANTASTIC!!!!!
Sunday we Hit up Mt Joyce again This time we did Bovine then Sergeants then Bovine again. Starting to really get the hang of bvine now which is a really fast track with a heap of tech stuff. But after 11 minutes you are absolutely Buggered!
Bikes going in for a good service Tomorrow arvo ( better get it back Friday or I'll be pissed) Then taking on my first Down Hill Race event on Sunday. Still very wary of Sergeants but I'll take my time on it to get down safely then PING it down Bovine and Black rock to try make up some time.
54 or something like that Sleeps till Otago!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Mount Joyce
So went out for a spin at Mount Joyce today with a mate Craig. We talked ourselves into havng a crack at this http://www.eventmanagementsolutions.com.au/the-team/escape-enduro.
Basically its a 3 stage downhill race where you at 45 minutes between stages which means you start at track 1 and get 45 minutes to complete it and get to track 2 etc. Sounds easy enough but at Mount Joyce that means 200-300 metres of climbing between each stage.
So we went out today to see if we could ride the Downhill tracks. First stop Seargeants WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! What a rush!!!!!!!! What an amazing ride! Full on rock gardens, BIG drops, sweeping corners and HUGE jumps!. ( Thank godness for B-lines LOL) So whats better than doing Seargeants for the first time?? DOING IT AGAIN!
First run was around 5:50mins but we stopped to scope the line a few times and run 2 was around 3:40. The real Downhill Boys do it aaround 2:30.
Finished the day off with a run down Black Rock which is another Down hill track but around 10 minutes long. Some really fast and flowy sections combined with some serious Drops.
Video from last time we went there.
http://vimeo.com/27506081
Can't wait to hit Seargents again. What a rush!
Basically its a 3 stage downhill race where you at 45 minutes between stages which means you start at track 1 and get 45 minutes to complete it and get to track 2 etc. Sounds easy enough but at Mount Joyce that means 200-300 metres of climbing between each stage.
So we went out today to see if we could ride the Downhill tracks. First stop Seargeants WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! What a rush!!!!!!!! What an amazing ride! Full on rock gardens, BIG drops, sweeping corners and HUGE jumps!. ( Thank godness for B-lines LOL) So whats better than doing Seargeants for the first time?? DOING IT AGAIN!
First run was around 5:50mins but we stopped to scope the line a few times and run 2 was around 3:40. The real Downhill Boys do it aaround 2:30.
Finished the day off with a run down Black Rock which is another Down hill track but around 10 minutes long. Some really fast and flowy sections combined with some serious Drops.
Video from last time we went there.
http://vimeo.com/27506081
Can't wait to hit Seargents again. What a rush!
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Update time
Righto so lots to tell. On the weekend Saturday I headed out on a group ride from Cabolture train station to Mooloola Train station. The idea to cover lots of km's ride lots of dirt and get the train back.
Was a hell of a ride totalling 78KM! My first ever ride over 40km and surprisingly i actually felt pretty good at the end.
Heres a great blog with pics and a better story from the guy who organised the ride. Thanks again Neil.
http://blog.neilennis.com/index.php/mooloolah-xc/
And more pics from another rider http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/hootsmon_album/2011-10-29_Caboolture_Mooloola/?albumview=slideshow
Geeze I need a shave :P
Then went out riding on Sunday as well. Took Michelle on her first MTBO event at Scribbly guym reserve. Some nice tracks thru there and quite a nice little course for a CATI event.
Think Michelle enjoyed herself so hope to drag along to a few races next year.
So the km's are back on track and the weightloss is starting to happen.
PUMP TRACK UPDATE:
It's SO dam close. Problem we've been having is that the bottom berm which is the most important part to maintaining speed for a continuous loop. The problem was that the exit tightened which caused the bike to either float out of the berm ( hard to explain) or shoot you off into the trees. Most of the time I would be dabbing the brakes to be able to take the corner. So after much debate we opened up the exit got rid of the end roller and steepened the face of the berm.
Result:
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! we have full loops!!! Now can take at full speed most of the time without any issues and maintain the speed u to the tabletop and the top half of the track. Tabletop has also been chopped and changed now has a new roller on the side wall to allow pumping to the top half.
Next trick will be to work out what we need to do to get more speed. Track is GREAT FUN! with a few pedals thrown in can really whip around it. Hoping to get dirty tomorrow arvo and make some of the rollers BIGGER and LONGER. Theory being that flat ground is bad.
Quote for the day: " If I learnt form My mistakes , I'd be a f@#ken Genius"
Was a hell of a ride totalling 78KM! My first ever ride over 40km and surprisingly i actually felt pretty good at the end.
Heres a great blog with pics and a better story from the guy who organised the ride. Thanks again Neil.
http://blog.neilennis.com/index.php/mooloolah-xc/
And more pics from another rider http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/hootsmon_album/2011-10-29_Caboolture_Mooloola/?albumview=slideshow
Geeze I need a shave :P
Then went out riding on Sunday as well. Took Michelle on her first MTBO event at Scribbly guym reserve. Some nice tracks thru there and quite a nice little course for a CATI event.
Think Michelle enjoyed herself so hope to drag along to a few races next year.
So the km's are back on track and the weightloss is starting to happen.
PUMP TRACK UPDATE:
It's SO dam close. Problem we've been having is that the bottom berm which is the most important part to maintaining speed for a continuous loop. The problem was that the exit tightened which caused the bike to either float out of the berm ( hard to explain) or shoot you off into the trees. Most of the time I would be dabbing the brakes to be able to take the corner. So after much debate we opened up the exit got rid of the end roller and steepened the face of the berm.
Result:
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! we have full loops!!! Now can take at full speed most of the time without any issues and maintain the speed u to the tabletop and the top half of the track. Tabletop has also been chopped and changed now has a new roller on the side wall to allow pumping to the top half.
Next trick will be to work out what we need to do to get more speed. Track is GREAT FUN! with a few pedals thrown in can really whip around it. Hoping to get dirty tomorrow arvo and make some of the rollers BIGGER and LONGER. Theory being that flat ground is bad.
Quote for the day: " If I learnt form My mistakes , I'd be a f@#ken Genius"
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Slacker
Yeah so its not quite going according to plan.
Tickets booked and I'm entered after a few issues. Last weekend saw me and a few mates, Gav, Mitch and Craig Do the hard yards and build a pump track in the backyard.
Did my first decent ride since the last MTBO event. We went out Bayview for a night ride. First time I've been there in twelve months and my first night ride out there. WHAT A HOOT!!! 30km/hr in the dark down a single track inches form the guy in fronts rear tyre. Had an absolute blast so we are going to try to make it a regular ride.
Thats all for now will attempt to update more regularly. But doubt it. LOL
Tickets booked and I'm entered after a few issues. Last weekend saw me and a few mates, Gav, Mitch and Craig Do the hard yards and build a pump track in the backyard.
Early pics of the track.
Since then we've been tweaking it to try to get it to a stage that we can pump the whoe way around. Been doing a few sessions on the track which are only 10 minute spins but bugger you and are reat for cornering practice.Did my first decent ride since the last MTBO event. We went out Bayview for a night ride. First time I've been there in twelve months and my first night ride out there. WHAT A HOOT!!! 30km/hr in the dark down a single track inches form the guy in fronts rear tyre. Had an absolute blast so we are going to try to make it a regular ride.
Thats all for now will attempt to update more regularly. But doubt it. LOL
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Day 2
Ok so I missed doing anything here yesterday. Oh well.
Righto so my starting weight ( which I'm not real happy with ) is 95.6kg and 25.2% Fat. Yep I'm a fat ass.
Goal is to get down to around 85 by January.
Day one I managed 10 km on the bike (road) and bugger all else Due to a witch doctor appointment ( Physio) Knee is getting there slowly. Also Got my first load of Dirt yesterday for the track. SO work has begun and looking pretty good.
Today I did 10km again this morning (road) Not happy with the road riding and lack of time to do anymore kms.. And NO Lycra was NOT worn!
Did soem more on the track starting on the first 2 rollers. Got the first one good but couldn't get the distance right for the second. Helps if I read the e-book I bought. Had them way to close together.
Hope to step up the kms later in the week and a big push over the weekend to get the track finished.
Quote for the day "Lycra- It should have a weight limit"
Righto so my starting weight ( which I'm not real happy with ) is 95.6kg and 25.2% Fat. Yep I'm a fat ass.
Goal is to get down to around 85 by January.
Day one I managed 10 km on the bike (road) and bugger all else Due to a witch doctor appointment ( Physio) Knee is getting there slowly. Also Got my first load of Dirt yesterday for the track. SO work has begun and looking pretty good.
Today I did 10km again this morning (road) Not happy with the road riding and lack of time to do anymore kms.. And NO Lycra was NOT worn!
Did soem more on the track starting on the first 2 rollers. Got the first one good but couldn't get the distance right for the second. Helps if I read the e-book I bought. Had them way to close together.
Hope to step up the kms later in the week and a big push over the weekend to get the track finished.
Quote for the day "Lycra- It should have a weight limit"
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Introduction
Hi all and welcome to my BLOG a.k.a Attempt to keep myself on track. The goal of this blog is to keep myself motivated to getting fit for Otago 2012. What's that you ask? THIS http://www.otagomtbo2012.co.nz/
You see I'm slightly obsessed with mountain bike riding and especially MTBO racing. MTBO racing is basically Orienteering races done on Mountain bikes. Typical distances can be as short as 15km and as long as 40km +.
So this Blog is my story/Diary of my road to Otago 2012 and getting fit enough to compete at a respectible level.
Current state of fitness is ok but not spectacular. I usually ride between 20-30km but not doing enough rides for my liking at the moment. Goal is to do at least 100km a week and to do at least one 60km+ ride before Januray. Longeest to date is about 38km- Duck creek rd and also Round 8 of the MTBO at Beerburrum last week.
Training begins tomorrow........
You see I'm slightly obsessed with mountain bike riding and especially MTBO racing. MTBO racing is basically Orienteering races done on Mountain bikes. Typical distances can be as short as 15km and as long as 40km +.
So this Blog is my story/Diary of my road to Otago 2012 and getting fit enough to compete at a respectible level.
Current state of fitness is ok but not spectacular. I usually ride between 20-30km but not doing enough rides for my liking at the moment. Goal is to do at least 100km a week and to do at least one 60km+ ride before Januray. Longeest to date is about 38km- Duck creek rd and also Round 8 of the MTBO at Beerburrum last week.
Training begins tomorrow........
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