Enduro Magazine Issue #10

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CHATTING WITH GARY FISHER | RACING IN WA | BUILD CORE STRENGTH | CROC TROPHY | 09 BIKES | COMMENCAL | PIVOT | GIANT

As used by the Kona Mt Buller Factory Team Groupe Sportif Pty. Ltd ph: (03) 8878 1000 fax: (03) 8878 1001 email: help@groupesportif.com

www.mavic.com

Š 2008 Cannondale Bicycle Corporation.

Based on 130mm of user-tunable travel, the Virtue combines the agility and performance of a full-suspension cross country bike with the bump-eating travel of a trail bike. From our blend of cutting-edge frame materials to the ultra-efficient Equilink suspension, the Virtue is one of the most versatile bikes on the market.

VIRTUE ONE

VIRTUE TWO

VIRTUE THREE

for more information go to www.southcottcycles.com.au Distributed in Australia by Southcott Pty. Ltd. Tel (03) 9580 7388 Toll Free 1800 805 024

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Cover photo: Night time at the Scott 24hr | Rider: Cameron Wells | Photo: Sportograf

A clear Canberra sunrise greets a sleepy rider at the Scott 24hr.

Photo: Sportograf

publisher Freewheel Media Adam Macleod adam@freewheel.com.au editor james williamson james@freewheel.com.au SUB Editor mikkeli godfree mikk@freewheel.com.au art director | designer Niki fisher Niki@nikifisher.com www.nikifisher.com

Midnight proofing crew Mikkeli Godfree, Joel Mcfarlane-Roberts, Peter Knight, James Williamson editorial contributors James Williamson, Joel McfarlaneRoberts, Hamish Armstrong, Nic Eccles, Peter Hatton, Jeremy Ross, Liam Delany, Hamish Elliot, Kath Bicknell, Travis Deane, Nick Both, Sam Maffett, John Lascelles, Paul Traynor, Jo Bennett, Kim Whitehouse, Mark Fenner, Anthony Zahra snaparazzi Sportograf, Damian Breach, Travis Deane, John Fraser, Steve Ardern, Adam Macleod, Kath Bicknell, Russ Baker, Trek Bicycle Corporation, Bohdan Warchomij, Cape to Cape MTB, Koala Productions, Sam Maffett, John Flynn, Dave Silver, Dave Bateman, Krystle Wright

advertising editorial ph: +613 9853 0841 mob: 0438 292 006 email: Adam@freewheel.com.au post correspondence to 29 loch st, kew, vic 3101 Articles printed in this publication are the opinion of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors or publishers of enduro. www.freewheel.com.au

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features scott 24hr gary fisher cape to cape flight centre epic riding the euro alps audax highland fling southbound disco girls croc trophy bc bike race 09 bikes

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review giant cypher pivot mach 5 commencal super 4.2 Deuter/mavic hikenbiker oval concepts/fox fulcrum verofit

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It’s all black and white to me | Sketch: Niki Fisher

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Issue 10

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It’s been a hectic few months, flicking through the issue gives you a bit of an idea – from chatting to a mountain bike legend in Sydney, pushing through another Canberra 24hr, to checking out the Margaret River region in WA. It’s been awesome, tiring and enlightening.

First you have an old bloke in a crazy suit who was born into a world with no singletrack and no knobblies. He, and a bunch of mates, created mountain biking. On the one hand it’s a simple fact. On the other hand it’s incredible feat and an even more amazing story. Mountain biking is such a huge industry and yet, 40 years ago it barely existed.

Yep, chatting to Gary Fisher isn’t something I’m going to forget anytime soon. A month or two later we were on the start line of a first-time WA multi-day mountain bike

event. It was supposed to be a ride through the Margaret River region, checking out the scenery and sipping on the odd fine wine.

However, if you have a start and finish banner someone’s going to want to get there first – within 100 metres of the start line on stage one it was already a race.

It turned out to be an awesome few days – far more fulfilling for most than if it had just been a ride. You see, as mountain bikers we love pushing ourselves. You might have goose-bumps before a race and feel so nervous you want to throw up. You might tell yourself entering the race was the stupidest thing you could have done. You might even think you hate racing. But the fact is there’s something in all of us that loves it. That became obvious to me – and the organisers – over the four days at WA’s Cape to Cape.

Everyone had the choice to cruise but no one wanted to.

There were a few times that Gary Fisher flashed through the back of my mind over that week (and it wasn’t because of his sexy suit). We were racing a new event and, as mountain bikers, shaping the event along the way. Mountain biking started because it’s fun and the Cape to Cape turned into a race because it’s fun.

So next time you’re feeling like racing is too serious or too competitive, think back to the day you rode your fastest, smoothest or most effortlessly and remember how much it made you smile.

I hope you enjoy Enduro 10.

James

SORE NECK OR SHOULDERS FROM RIDING? RELIEVE THE PAIN FAST! Guarantee Your Absolute Iron Clad

You’ve probably never thought about what you’re doing to your body every time you go out for a ride “hunched up” over the handlebars for hours on end.

No matter how well adjusted your bike, the problem is that in the head forward cycling position the load on your neck and shoulders doubles for every 2-3cm your head moves forward!

The result is that you may feel pain in the neck (which may radiate into the arm and hand), in the shoulders or in the upper back and may include symptoms

other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling.

Now a safe and simple remedy, the Posturepole, is available from health professionals or through the web.

It helps relieve tension, re-align your spine and gives quick relief in just 5-10 minutes!

Ideal for cyclists, it’s terrific for after-ride relaxation and upper body stretch and at just $69.95 it’s great value.

You’ll have happy memories of your ride rather than sore neck, shoulders and arms!

Purchase a Posturepole and try it for 90 days. If, within that time, you don’t get relief from back pain quickly and effectively after bike riding…you be the sole judge… we will instantly refund every cent you paid. No questions asked!

To find your nearest Posturepole stockist or order from the web visit...

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Gary Fisher unveils Roscoe

The new Trek Top Fuel – the weapon of choice for six time 24hr World Champ Chris Eatough – has had some major revisions for ’09. The bike features an integrated seat tube and a crazy, curved section from the seat down to the bottom bracket. This is called the ‘Crossbow Frame’ offering increased compliance and stiffness. Regardless of performance benefits, it’s guaranteed to make an impact at the local enduro race. The new Top Fuel borrows extensively from the ’08 Fuel EX , with Active Brake Pivot, Full Floater and EVO Link. This new go-fast dually also comes with the broader BB90 which moulds the cups directly into the frame. This, combined with the option of a 2X9 front chain ring set-up, allows for a super- smooth chain-line. The model line-up will also feature an aluminium Top Fuel 8 to accompany its more expensive carbon brothers.

The Roscoe is new from Gary Fisher for ’09.

It’s a 140mm long-travel trail bike packed with some pretty cool technology. The bike comes with Gary Fisher’s trademark G2 Geometry. This offers increased fork offset for shorter cockpit length but stable long-wheelbase handling characteristics. The trend these days is to go fatter and stiffer and the Roscoe delivers with a tapered head-tube, called the E2 Steerer.

The steerer goes from 1-1/8 at the top, to 1-1/2 at the base where it meets the fork – which is also tapered – offering lightweight stiffness. Gary Fisher has worked with Fox to engineer the all-new DRCV rear shock. The long shock has two reservoirs; the second is activated as the shock moves into the latter part of its travel. It’s designed to have the smooth long travel performance of a coil shock, at air shock weight. Finally, the Roscoe borrows from Trek development with the Active Braking Pivot at the rear. This pivot, located at the meeting point of the chain-stays and seat-stays, separates braking from drivetrain forces, supplying active suspension during braking and a more constant and stable contact with the ground. The Roscoe looks like an exciting ride and we look forward to some first-hand experience.

Also of interest from Gary Fisher is the new-look HiFi. It’s a lightweight 120mm endurance racing weapon available in a high-end sexy carbon version and – for those of us in the real world – a cheaper curved down-tube aluminium version.

Trek re-Fuels

BMC re-invents Trailfox Previously there weren’t many visual cues to separate the BMC Fourstroke and Trailfox. That’s no longer the case as BMC has given its Trailfox a complete overhaul for ’09 with a new frame design and longer travel. The new Trail Fox 01 frame offers 140mm of travel (up from 120mm in ’08) through its Advanced Pivot System (APS). APS is designed to offer minimal suspension influence when pedalling and a fully active system under braking. The model also comes with another handy acronym – the Initial Load Indicator (ILI) allowing you to alter the negative spring adjustment for optimum trail performance and helped by markings on the seat tube and rocker arm to measure sag. The bikes also features a new, one piece CNC machined integrated brake post mount – the dropout and brake mount are all made from a single block – offering flex-free, responsive braking.

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Updated BMC Fourstroke The Fourstroke 01 features a full carbon frame weighing in below 1900g for the frame excluding the shock – seriously light. The BMC trademark Integrated Skeleton Concept sets the bike apart from others and allows for good force distribution. The chain-stays have been shortened for the ’09 model offering a more agile rear-end. The bike also features a longer top-tube for a stable, predictable ride. The Fourstoke also gets the BMC Advanced Pivot System (APS) treatment which allows for a stiff, responsive system thanks to the compact pivot arms and four closely-spaced pivot points.

SRAM to launch XX

Not content to rest on its X.0 laurels, SRAM is set to unleash an all new mountain bike groupset dubbed XX. There isn’t a whole lot of info floating around about the new grouppo – blame a competitive rivalry with Shimano – but expect it to be light and trick. Rumours suggest that it will be 10 speed and will run a double front ring 2X10 setup – with the road-going versions of both SRAM and Shimano offering 10 cogs at the back, it’s a safe assumption to make. SRAM will also likely involve the recently-acquired wheel manufacturer Zipp to develop the groupset. While details are sketchy, you can be sure to see plenty of carbon for the new grouppo coming to a store near you sometime in mid ’09.

Torq MTB Team The Torq Team recently unveiled its mountain bike squad for the upcoming season. With a strong cross country race focus, the team is set to take on the national and international scene with 2008 Australian Olympian Dan McConnell and previous Australian 24hr, Marathon and XC Champion Tory Thomas.

The Torq team is supported by the Victorian Institute of Sport. Most riders in the team will travel overseas next year in the hope of securing a place at the 2009 World Mountain Bike Championships to be held at Australia’s Mount Stromlo in September. collect your modelling contracts at the door | Photo: Adam Macleod

QLD 8hr Enduro Over 400 riders, including 75 kids, had a blast at the first 8hr Enduro Mountain Bike Race in Brisbane on the 5th of October 2008. Redback Cycles took an impressive overall win with 18 laps. Rachel Edwards was the women’s solo winner and Rolf Collett took out the solo male division. The race saw over 40 first-time riders racing in all categories and over 75 kids mounted their cycles and gave the kids courses a go. Bikes ranged from plastic trikes through to the impressive “they’ll grow into it” steeds. Plans for an even better course are already in pace for next year – the 8hr Enduro looks to become a feature on the QLD mountain bike calendar.

The next event on the course will be the annual Insomnia 24hr Mountain Bike Race in June next year. Start planning now, grab some team mates and get training for a great festival weekend. After the success of the kid’s races on the weekend, the Insomnia Festival looks to carry on the tradition. Organisers would like to thank the great support they received from the event sponsors For the Riders, AY UP and Endura.

Photo: Steve Ardern

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The Sydney Spring Fat Tyre Festival presented by JP Morgan and Kona Bikes Photo: Krystle Wright

This 8hr race was held on Sunday, November 23, 2008 at Ourimbah State Forest, north of Sydney in NSW and was hosted by Wannaride Events. An intermittent parting of the clouds and an easing of the blustery winds over Ourimbah State Forest allowed for the perfect beginning to the annual Sydney Spring Fat Tyre Festival. The mass start saw a solid field of 496 riders tussling for position and sprinting up the steep hill to be thrust into the glorious 11km of single trail that lay ahead.

This race oozes character and possesses a somewhat independent/underground charisma. It attracts riders of all abilities and backgrounds so you never really knew who or what you’ll come across out on course – all of which made for a really great day. Like ripping trails with your mates after work, there is no pretentious attitude, just old fashion fun on splendid trails. The groomed berms of the Roller Coaster and the beauty of the otherworldly aura of the Jurassic Park section had everyone grinning from ear to ear and, despite tired legs, racers were amped to get out for another lap. It was a bloody nice change to have an event at a course that isn’t raced on every weekend, and having 600+ people in the vicinity only reinforced the old saying ‘the more the merrier’. This is an event that is well organised and rewards riders for their efforts. From bike giveaways to trophies and ‘cash money’ (as 50 cent would say), these incentives put a cherry on top of the Sundae. The day finished up with Jason English, Hamish Elliot, and Hugh Stodart taking out the podium spots in the solo male category and Katrin Van Der Speigel, newcomer Vanina Vergoz, and Justine Leahy taking respective podium spots for the solo female category – Words: Hamish Elliot

ROTOR Q RINGS

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For your nearest see stockist www.rotorbike.com.au

Distributed in Australia by Unlimited Bicycles Pty Ltd

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Phone: 02 9521 1725

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Fax: 02 9521 1876

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Email: sales@unlimitedbicycles.com.au

Enduro turns ten this issue, no more single digits, and to celebrate we are offering the first 50 subscribers a copy of the DVD 24 Solo. It’s a well filmed, big budget flick that documents the epic battle between 6-time World Solo Champ Chris Eatough and Aussie Craig Gordon at the ’06 Solo World 24hr Champ’s. It’s remembered as the day that a little-known Aussie came to spoil the yankee party and makes for insightful, captivating viewing. Watching it is more exciting than this drivel though: subscribe to Enduro ASAP and you’re likely to get a shiny copy in the mail. see page 107 for details

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Token 12hr Challenge – 10th January 2009

If you like the enduro thing and want to know how it’d translate to the smooth roads check out next year’s 12 hour road race. The race will be on the 10th January ’09 over a distance of approx 5.5km per lap. The race is open to solos and teams and will be held at The International Regatta Centre in Penrith, Western Sydney.

More info: www.southernhighlandscc.com.au

Otway Odyssey – 21st February 2009

The Otway Odyssey is one of the toughest 100k races out there starting at the oceans of Apollo Bay and taking riders up into the ranges, finishing in the small town of Forrest. Entries are already filling fast. If you want to be part of one of the biggest 100k races in Australia.

More info: www.rapidascent.com.au

BMC Mountains to Beach – 1 -6 March 2009 Imagine a week of mountain biking through alpine ranges, descending through rainforest trails, and finishing in the sand and surf. The BMC Mountains to Beach will take place from the 1-7th of March 2008. This week-long event will be open to solo and pairs and will feature race and cruise stages covering 350km from the Thredbo Ski Resort to the beaches of Narooma on the South Coast of NSW. Promising amazing scenery, wicked trails and plenty of time to suck up the fresh mountain air, the BMC Mountains to Beach is guaranteed to sell out quick.

More info: www.wildhorizons.com.au Photo: Wild Horizons

Alps Epic – 15-19th March 2009

The Alps Epic promises 6 stages over 5 days racing in varied stages between Tumut and Thredbo in the NSW Snowy Mountains. Stages range from 7 to 55km and take in the dramatic scenery of the region. Competitors can chose to take the supported option or organise their own support crew. The race is limited to 200 riders so if you’re interested get in quick!

More info: www.alpsepic.com.au

Australian Marathon Champ’s – 29th March 2009

The 2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships will be run on Sunday 29 March in Wandong and the Mt Disappointment State Forest, Victoria. The race will offer 100km, 69km and 38km distance options. Enter the 100km course and you’ll be riding amongst Australia’s top mountain bikers as they contest the 2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships.

Big Hill Events’ Wandong race is in its third year and in 2009 the longer distance course will be extended from 90km to 100kms. Offering some great new descents and a little more climbing, the course has 2500 vertical meters in altitude gain over the length of the 100km course.

Riders will face undulating narrow 4WD tracks through dense forest sections and exhilarating descents down 4WD double tracks. Great single track sections through secret trails, a mix of short steep climbs and some long gradual climbs, as well as fast descending will ensure that it’s a tough but rewarding day out. This course has been modelled on some of Europe’s best races and will feature a number of fully catered Feed Zones where they will have an opportunity to re-hydrate and refuel. Big Hill Event’s friendly event staff will be on hand to provide riders with water, Endura Re-hydration, Energy Bars and Gels, Degani bakery food, fruit, lollies and more. Also on offer again in 2009 will be mechanical support provided by Croydon Cycle Works.

There will be fantastic prizes on offer, with $1000 for the premier 100k category winners and plenty of other category cash prizes including a brand new Felt bike. Riders are encouraged to enter early – the event will be limited to a field of 750 riders.

More info: www.bighillevents.com.au

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Bike Buller Festival – 21-22 March 2009

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Otway Odyssey organisers Rapid Ascent have announced a new two day race to be held at Mt Buller in late March. The race will feature 3 stages held over two days encompassing both cross country and downhill events. Under the supervision of legendary trail designer Glen Jacobs, Mt Buller has established itself as a premier mountain bike destination. With awesome scenery, fun trails and promised post-race festivities, it looks to be a great weekend.

More info: www.bikebullermtbfestival.com

Terra Australis – 29 March-4 April 2009

If you like the idea of pedalling your way through Victoria’s premier food and wine region with a detour – or two – to check out some high country Alpine Resorts, the Terra Australis could be just your thing.

Described as the ‘Great Southern Mountain Bike Epic’, the Terra Australis is a new stage race for Australia in 2009, traversing the high peaks and exploring historic high country villages. The race promises amazing scenery and some sweet singletrack.

It’s a seven day stage race entered in teams of two or three. Riders work together as a team throughout the race, similar to overseas events like the Cape Epic and the TransRockies. Exact stage distances are yet to be announced but the race will take riders from the alpine town of Falls Creek to the inland city of Wangaratta.

According to Iain Moore, Director of Finish Line Events and organiser of the race, “This race is in the true spirit of the overseas stage races. The days will be long and we’ll be heading up plenty of mountains.”

If you want to put all that summer fitness to good use in a tough but rewarding 7-day stage race, check out the Terra Australis.

More info: www.terraaustralismtbepic.com

Mont 24hr – 4th-5th April 2009

Sparrow Hill, half an hour’s drive from Canberra is one of the most popular trail destinations anywhere, with its masses of fast and flowy trails. It’s held a bunch of XC, 3hr and 8hr races but never a 24hr…until now. The Mont 24hr is re-locating from Majura Pines’ ’07 venue, to Sparrow Hill for ’09. Entries are for a team of 4 or 6, it promises a relaxed atmosphere and sensational riding on great trails.

More info: www.mont24.com.au

imagine, design, create... www.fictive.com.au

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NEW GEAR

1. Crumpler Bumper Issue

$145

This is a brand new hydration pack from Crumpler. It’s water resistant on the outside, comes with a 1.5 litre bladder and side compression straps so you can strap stuff to the outside (like a pump). It’s manufactured to Crumpler’s usual solid standards and comes in four different colours. www.crumpler.com.au 2. Anger Mgmt Loco Helmet

$59.95

This affordable lid will appeal to the younger crowd with the looks of a skate helmet and the ventilation and function of an xc helmet.

It comes in two colours, has 19 vents and weighs in at 290grams. Good for enduro events, although I’m not sure you’ll see too many skaters in them. www.pacbrands.com.au

3. Manitou R7 MRD Carbon

$1549

5. Ritchey Biomax saddles

$199

The internals of these forks feature the Manitou Absolute Dampener system, as with previous R7 forks. The lowers are magnesium with carbon reinforcement, adding stiffness. This also reduces weight fractionally but raises the bling factor to another level.

As you’d expect when throwing words like ‘magnesium’ and ‘carbon’ around, these forks are light, just over 1260g actually. We should see them in Australia just before Christmas – they’ll be on my list to Santa.

For those who like the centre cut-out saddle, Ritchey now offers a flash version. With a name that might make oil companies jealous, the Biomax has a 35% carbon injection in the shell of the saddle for stiffness and reduced weight. It also has steel rails and comes in at a bit over 200g.

www.dirtworks.com.au

These grips come in lime green which is either pretty cool or pretty lame, depending who you are. We reckon they’re pretty cool.

They’re practical too with a lock-on system meaning you can get them on and off easily and they won’t start moving around in the wet. The ‘diamondised’ surface pattern is also suitably tacky and hard-wearing and they come with bonus end caps.

4. Adidas Evil Eye Pro

$379.95

These are a bit of an Adidas classic – timeless, I’d say. They feature the Tri-Fit system meaning you can custom adjust the angle of the arms. This is a limited edition white and black model to celebrate Adidas’ support of Beijing Olympians. www.adidas.com/Eyewear

www.dirtworks.com.au 6. ODI Ruffian grips

www.dirtworks.com.au

$49

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7. Light & Motion Stella 200L

$499

The neat-looking Stella weighs in at a scant 300g, pumps out 200 lumens and can run for up to 50hrs on its most economical setting.

It has a mount for both handlebar and helmet and takes 1.75hrs to charge. www.scvimports.com.au

9. Hayes Stroker Gram

$499

This is a pretty tech looking set of discs. All unnecessary bulk has been stripped off the Stroker Gram. The brake body also includes a titanium master cylinder and aluminiumbacked pads. At a claimed 355g with a 160mm rotor, they’re light and sexy. www.dirtworks.com.au

8. Bontrager RXL Mountain

10. Rotor Q Rings

www.tba.com.au

$28-$45

Hikenbiker is set to unleash some supperfine merino underwear in February. Merino is more breathable than cotton and adapts to your body temperature. The fabric is also able to absorb 30% of its weight in sweat without feeling damp on the skin – clever and natural. www.hikenbiker.com

$399

The Bontrager RXL shoes are a pretty flash looking bit of kit, especially in white. They use the Bontrager inForm design to provide a comfortable fit with a large toe box section for increased circulation. The heavily engineered heel cup section is also claimed to reduce slipping. The RXL features two straps with a buckle, breathable mesh and a carbon sole for stiff, lightweight energy transfer.

Due in Australia late December, you might just see some under the Christmas tree.

11. Hikenbiker Merino

$349 (set of 3) 12. Smith InterLock Spoiler

The Rotor Q-Rings use an ovalised chain ring system to give you more drive when you need it most and reduce the ‘dead spot’ in the pedal stroke giving you a smoother, more efficient pedal action. Those of you who remember Shimano BioPace of the late 80’s might be sceptical, but the Q-Rings have had big success with the likes of Tour de France rider Bobby Julich swearing by them. Expect an in-depth test next issue. www.unlimitedbicycles.com.au

$269.95

These glasses feature the TR90 Grilamid large frame design frame for a tough and solid structure. The big framed design also means great protection and what’s more, they look cool. If you’re feeling a bit underdone in the fashion stakes at the local enduro, check out the Spoiler. www.smithoptics.com

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NEW GEAR

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13. Deuter Bike 1

$118

15. Lupine Tesla 4

$649

This is a 22 litre backpack with Deuter trademark features like a stowaway helmet holder, meshed hip belt and flexible aluminium stays in the backpack foam section that can be moulded to your back. Also available in a women’s version, it’s a good looking, versatile load carrier.

This hi-tech light from Lupine weighs in at 320g and packs some punch with 700 lumens to light up the trail. It has a 3hr burn time on its brightest setting, takes 5 hours to charge and comes with a helmet mount included. Light technology has clearly come a long way!

www.velovita.net.au

www.virtuascape.com.au

14. FSA K ForceLight 2X9

$990

The simpler and lighter double front chain ring has been making a bit of a comeback lately, especially for the XC application. It allows for reduced weight and also allows you to run a straighter chain-line without the extra spacing required for a granny ring.

The K ForceLight uses stiff external bearing cups and carbon fibre crank arms for a good looking, feather-weight set of cranks. www.scvimports.com.au

16. Troy Lee Designs XC Jersey

$99.95

$38.95

This is evolution of the popular Troy Lee XC glove. The gloves have a mixture of Spandex and Air-Prene backing and a Clarino leather palm, making them lightweight and breathable. They’re a comfortable, versatile all-purpose glove.

18. Troy Lee Designs XC Lite Shorts

This jersey is designed for comfort with micro-mesh ventilation panels in the shoulder and armpit areas to promote airflow and keep you cool. It has 3 pockets at the back, a zippered front and a zipper pocket for that precious beer money. www.stevecramerproducts.com.au

17. Troy Lee Designs Headline Glove

$195

With a sewn-in chamois, these shorts are designed for relaxed comfort. They have a spandex stretch material at the rear and sides for free-movement and come with some handy cargo side-pockets. www.stevecramerproducts.com.au 19. MRP Bash Guard XCG Single Ring $ 79.95

Triple Ring $ 87.95 This lightweight bash guard is designed to protect your expensive big ring from obstacles like logs and rocks. The guard has a replaceable polycarbonate Skid mounted to an alloy back plate – great for protecting your shiny crankset. www.stevecramerproducts.com.au

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The bald Stromlo Forest Park provides a stunning night spectacle. Photo: Russ Baker

race up

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Australia’s biggest 24hr, the race that started it all, turned 10 years old in October ’08. To celebrate, over 2200 mountain bikers from all over Australia grabbed their bikes and headed out to Mt Stromlo for another weekend of dusty madness. The race that always seems to be pushing the boundaries continued with GPS tracking on riders to measure their progress, live video coverage of the course played on a big screen in the transition area, radio commentary throughout, and some of the sweetest singletrack out there. Technology is great, singletrack is better, but this race is about the people. Kath Bicknell followed an enthusiastic 3 person team to get an insight into what makes this race keep smashing along year after year.

LIFE IS A RACE BICYCLES D’OPINION /

/ PRINCIPAT D’ANDORRA / WWW.COMMENCAL.COM

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The colourful gathering for race start. Photo: Sportograf

than Two” was made up of Meaghan and Ben Binder and Nicholas Smee. Five minutes at the team tent revealed that Megs, Ben and Nick were only a small part of the full team, which was also included Megs’ mum and dad, Rosemary and Peter Stanton, the Binder kids, Zoe, Jamie and Sascha and Nick’s son, Jordan. If three is better than two, nine is clearly better than three. Especially if nine means fantastic food, great company, and a campsite setup to rival any other.

Looking around their digs it was pretty obvious that this team was clued in to what makes a good 24hr. Tents for sleeping and changing were set up around a very neatly organised area for eating, chilling and preparing food. There was a bike repair stand out the back, a radio to tune in to the race commentary, a lap time schedule next to a watch on one wall and a tall green flag Zoe had made for her school sporting house that would wave high above the chaos of the Le Mans style run-to-the-bike start.

This campsite typified the experienced and organised 24hr experience.

I first caught up with the team at about 11 o’clock, an hour before the race start.

Meaghan was infectiously excited. Last year’s 24hr was not only her first race but also her first time on single track. “I was so bad, I was just falling over all the time. I was technically hopeless. I’m only realising now how much I’ve improved. Every time I went through one of those rocky turns last year I was unclipping

both of my feet just in case!” What she failed to mention was that she also won the competition for the worst looking bike last year.

It actually broke half way through a night lap. This saw her win a new Scott Scale and get so seriously hooked on the sport that

Ben Smee grabs his bike for the start of the race. Photo: Kath Bicknell

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24 hour race is about so much more than racing. It’s full of teams and campsites and stories, a whole lot of socialising and all your favourite foods all at once. While I tell myself leading up to “the Scott” that it’s just another race, the truth is that every time I roll into the event centre, my body just knows it’s different. It’s big, it’s spread out and it fills a huge space in so many people’s most vivid riding memories. It’s bursting with stories, most of which I’ll never hear, and equally bursting with people, most of whom I’ll never meet. Each year it takes me longer to walk from my campsite to the toilet block as there are more familiar faces along the way.

Every rider has a tale or ten to tell and this is usually interspersed between opinions of the track, updates on time spent between races and cheers for friends and team-mates passing by.

We thought we’d find a team to follow through the event to hear their story and what this 24hr meant to them. We were hoping for a journey of emotional highs and lows, elation and despair, going hard and getting over it (only to go out hard again). It is not nice to wish that on anyone though and fate would ensure that this type of journey would better describe my own team’s day out at the track rather than that of the team whose day and night we were to follow.

We decided on the team of three represented by the Smee and Binder Families.

The Binder-Smee team “Three is Better

the whole family have been regular faces at local events in the twelve months since. The Binders also credit the South Coast United Mountainbikers club for their improvements in riding over the last year. Zoe (11)

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26 Meghan punches through the night. Photo: Sportograf

race up

and Jamie (9) even took out the under 15 category in the NSW State XC series over winter. As Ben puts it, “The whole family got into it basically because of what happened to us here last year. So it’s now something we can all do together.”

I love this about endurance racing. The casual atmosphere and supportive environment has seen a huge number of people take up the sport. It’s nice to think that some of my favourite things about mountain biking are as much because of the sport as the type of people it attracts.

Meaghan, Ben and another friend, Gareth Williams, rode together to fifth place in the mixed threes category last year – the same category the team are in this year.

Gareth was off riding solo through the Indian Himalayas for six months, so the team called on Nick, a seasoned 24 hour competitor, to join their team instead. “This year we know we can make it,” Meaghan says, “so we’ll try and go a bit faster this time.” While riding fast, consistency is still the aim. No point riding hard on Saturday if it takes two hours to get through a lap on Sunday.

Soon enough, this year’s race began. I followed Zoe’s green flag down to the crit track in time to see Ben have a great run and get the team off to a solid start. By four in the afternoon team “Nine Surely Strengthens Three” were looking good in the

their act and they came back to campsite results. Megs’ new bike and healthy addicwith some cool looking bells to ring. The tion to it had seen her knock ten minutes off campsite was next to a part of the race last year’s lap time and she was listed with course where the track passed by in two difthe third fastest female race time so far. ferent directions. It was a prime position for She hadn’t expected this and had revealed keeping an eye on the racing - Jordan and her surprise to the team by announcing she the girls did a great job of cheering on other overtook twenty-six people and was only riders with their new toys. passed by one! They found it hilarious that she had kept counting past nineteen or so. I found it The Setup. Photo Kath Bicknell interesting that she had no idea how quick she really is. Ben was out riding again and Nick was hanging at the campsite cleaning his Giant rig ready for another hot lap.

By nightfall, the team were eight minutes down on second. Fuelled by the atmosphere and a healthy dose of energy drink, the younger generation of the Binder-Smee camp were still on planet excitement A few minutes later, Peter (Meg’s dad) and had just come back from transition came back from the transition area with a where they had hassled mike-man, Stu Plant, plate full of Dutch pancakes. He was quickly for some merch: “We’re poor lonely abansurrounded by hungry girls with excited doned children. We need some prizes,” they mouths. Next time I looked the only evidence said. I don’t think Stu believed them, but with of pancakes was a dribble of syrup and an such smiling, innocent looking faces staring empty plate. I commented that Peter didn’t up at him, it’s not surprising that he fell for

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Inland Australia is great for silhouettes. Photo: Sportograf

solo male

Jason English

28 laps

Andrew Bell

27 laps

Zdenek Kriz

26 laps

Solo female

Jessica Douglas

21 laps

Philippa Rostan

19 laps

Penny Dustow

18 laps

race up

get many in the end. He smiled and revealed that eating them all himself was never the plan…

Spurred on by the thought of pancakes, I headed back to my own team for a while.

I would check back in again at three in the morning, and wondered what I would find would there be some drama or would they still look unflappable, holding it all together?

When I returned I found the guys still as calm and relaxed as ever despite there being only three minutes separating second and third place. The kids were in bed. It was quiet and calm. The crew were looking tired but happy, sitting in front of the tent with little plastic cups of tea, resting without actually closing their eyes, there were no plans for double laps…or sleep. There had been lots of crashes and punctures out on the course but our team was holding it together better than most.

Rosemary, in her role as mum and grandmum, brought with her years of experience in food and nutrition. She explained to me how everyone uses gels to get the last 10% out of their bodies but that they forget to eat smart at other times to maximise the other ninety. She explained the importance of eating within twenty minutes of exercise, because it’s at this time that your body is primed to reload depleted glycogen. Later than this and your body decides that rest will help it instead. She also explains the way gels draw water from your body if you don’t drink enough when you squeeze them down. This is what can cause cramps and a feeling of nausea. Her personality reminded me a lot of my mum – she doesn’t hammer her point, but says it in such a way that you don’t doubt her knowledge for an instant and want to put it into practice straight away in the hope of being a better person. With Rosemary on board it’s no doubt the team still looked fresh as the race pushed on toward sunrise.

Dawn came and went and – typical of

said referring to Tinker Juarez’s injury at the a 24hr race – the team gained inspiration recent 24 Hour World Champs) and from the light, the birds and the approaching last year’s winners, Canberra’s Onya Bike finish line. The racing was still keeping them Belconnen. honest; only minutes separated the top four Meaghan and Ben finished six laps down teams in the category with only a handful of on the talented Onya Belco crew last year. hours to race. It was not until I swung past This year with Nick on board, and twelve the tent half an hour before the race finish months extra riding, they had whittled that that I saw stress for the first time in the down to two laps. Impressive considering camp. Megs was supposed to be back half an the journey they’ve taken since Megs first hour ago but no one had seen her. saw single track only twelve months earlier.

Meaghan walked back to the tent not It shows how far enthusiasm can take you long after midday. She had a bandage half in this sport, and what an important role way up her arm, a tube with no valve slung good food, unassuming attitudes, a support over her shoulder, and an attentive daughnetwork and a little bit of organisation play ter, Jamie, by her side. The bandage was old in making the most out of an event like news; it was from a 4 am crash. It was the this one. puncture that slowed her down.

I left the event in a familiar, tired, “I’m just so upset because we’d been in second or third the entire race and then in one lap my lousy mechanical skills put us in fourth.” She’s shown throughout the race that she is such a capable, intelligent person, but focussing on anything but pedalling gets a lot harder as the race progresses. “I was basically just so wrecked I couldn’t actually fix it. You know, I’d fixed it once and it happened Climbing aboard the podium after a tough 24hrs. Photo: Kath Bicknell again and I thought I can’t do this…So I got post 24hr hour haze. I was feeling inspired back to transition, almost in tears, and Ben though – looking forward to the next year of said, ‘give me the thing!’ [the team baton] races, and the conversations, laughter, new and he took off!” Megs made it into transimemories and green flags that go with it. I tion at 11:57am with enough time for Ben to also couldn’t help but wonder how many adsneak out on one final lap. ditional stories are out there that I’m yet to “Three is Better than Two” finished up hear, and how many being laughed over right third behind the Kiwi/Sydneysider team “The now, that I’ll never hear.

Imports” who nearly pulled out with dust damaged eyes (“He nearly did a Tinker!” Megs

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W

We were in the middle of Sydney, in a flash hotel with shiny new bikes everywhere. Having been fed all the news on the latest Trek and Gary Fisher bikes all day I was getting tired, it was getting late in the arvo and I was hoping to miss peak-hour. But we still had to meet Gary. So, with Chris and Mick from Australian Mountain Bike, we stepped into the cushy lounges of the foyer and started our chat.

Words by James Williamson | Photos: Trek Bicycle Corporation

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ithin a few minutes I’d forgotten about peak-hour and I’d almost forgotten about bikes – things were getting interesting. “We know this gnarly chick who only has one arm - she lost the other arm in a motorcycle accident. She’s crazy; she does this poetry where all words are misspelt. She’s, like, way out there and wacky. Anyway, we were asking around about bike names and we were out there at her house – she lives in a trailer park – looking out the window she sees her next door neighbour – she’s called Betty – and she is carrying these groceries and she says “Hey! Keep it level there Betty!” and then she’s like, “Oh, Level Betty – that could be a good name.” Most of the names for our bikes have got a good story behind them.”

It’s not only the bike names that have a good story behind them. Like many people who become legends in their field, Gary started racing bikes in high school when there was nothing cool about riding bikes. “No one was riding, kids weren’t into it. The 60’s in the US was when the bicycle nearly disappeared.” In the post-war US boom everyone wanted to prove their success by buying bigger and better things like cars and houses. According to Gary, bikes just didn’t fit into this big-is-better landscape.

“I remember I used to wear my crazy socks and woolly shorts riding and this girl saw me one day as I rocked up to school with my bike. She looked at me and said, “You farmer!”

I had to cop plenty of flak back then because I rode a bike.”

Over the next few decades riding went from archaic and laughable to cutting edge and cool – the world was changing. The underground mountain bike world was pushing the boundaries of what we all expected from bicycles.

Gary and a bunch of mates were enjoying smashing down local fire road descents but Gary wanted more. He wanted be able to ride up hills as well as go faster down them – not too much to ask really, but there wasn’t a bike back then that could do it.

If necessity is the mother of invention then Gary is her son, he went about building a machine that would let him ride where and how he wanted to ride. Gary introduced drum brakes, thumb shifters, motorcycle brake levers and cables and triple chain rings with longer crank arms to his old Schwinn. He soon found that not only could he go downhill faster, but that these cool, new rigs presented a serious business prospect. Sales took off and in 1979, in association with Charlie Kelly, he named their new company MountainBikes, with Tom Ritchey (whose story is a book in itself) as frame builder. They unsuccessfully tried to trade-mark the term ‘Mountain Bike’ in 1979 and the company dissolved in 1983 due to disagreement amongst the group. Gary decided to start from a clean slate and Fisher Mountain Bikes were born in the same year.

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Gary Fisher is a flamboyant character.

He’s renowned for his crazy costumes and today, talking to us in Sydney, he hasn’t let us down. In a loud striped suit, diamond shaped glasses and a smart little peaked cap, he looks like a cruiser who never left the 70’s. He obviously prides himself on his costumes; in fact he seems almost happier talking about his kit than his bikes. “I found this suit at a place called Dashing Tweeds…it’s actually Teflon coated and fantastic in wet weather.”

The suit comes complete with long, bright pull-up socks to protect the lower suit legs from the chain. “It’s the first cycling suit I’ve had that I can wear cycling and still walk into a room and feel respected.”

In his 70’s Yankee drawl, Gary Fisher is an entertaining bloke – you quickly get the sense that he’s more used to being ‘the talker’ while others listen attentively. Given his formidable history, this can be easily forgiven. Besides, he knows a lot about wheel sizes. “You know, 28 and 32 inch wheel sizes were very popular back in the late 1800’s, the 26 inch wheel was actually brought over from Germany in the mid 1920’s and that’s the size we all later adopted” Which leads

us to the 29er. According to Gary, he always wanted to build a 29er since riding in the Colorado Rockies back in the late 70’s. “Riding over there I was like, wow, I wish I had a bigger wheel.”

The 29er came under serious consideration in the mid-90’s but it wasn’t until the late 90’s that the 29er was developed in conjunction with the Gary Fisher race team.

“I got together with Mark Slate from WTB – they were the race team tyre sponsor at the time. Mark developed a tyre and I built a bike that matched my 26inch bike specification as close as possible.”

Gary did months of testing the 29er alongside the 26er and over a set course with a heart rate monitor, established that the 29er was 3-4% faster. “The first bike used a steel frame with a Manitou Fork that you could unbolt and adjust the fork length, it was a one-off fork.”

The testing advantages obviously differ according to the specific course but this was enough for the trend to gather some serious momentum, enough for Gary to develop a production 29er. “We used like a 700c wheel and then we put the tyre on and

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it measured something like 28 and 7/8ths in wheel size, so I said, ‘To hell with it, let’s call it a 29er!’”

“The bikes have their downfalls though, people want compact bikes and the 29er is a big bike you know – it’s not for everyone.”

Gary’s raw character is a refreshing contrast to the glossy marketing buzzspeak we are used to from bike companies and product brochures. His straight-talking manner suggests he’s happier out the back playing with an angle-grinder and tape measure than talking people through company philosophy in the board-room.

With his name all over the Trek-owned Gary Fisher bikes though – he has his own ‘Gary’ link on the website – he can’t shy away from company speak, which leads us to the latest Genesis 2 (G2) geometry. Broadly speaking, the technology was introduced to make the bikes more responsive to steering input in tight trails.

Gary was a little shaky during the earlier dealer presentation on the specifics of suspension leverage ratios, talking geometry reveals no such haziness. “Geometry is what I love, it’s fundamental to how a bike handles. I

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Sketch: Niki Fisher

“I remember I used to wear my crazy socks and woolly shorts riding and this girl saw me one day as I rocked up to school with my bike.

She looked at me and said, “You farmer!”

don’t necessarily know what works but I just keep experimenting, it’s not just my input too, I get feedback from riders to understand where we can improve, G2 stems from this.”

As a young downhill pinner who loved welding whatever he could to an old Schwinn, Gary basically had free reign to do as he pleased. However, with increased production come inevitable constraints. “Whenever you start making bikes for a good number of people you become a bit of a slave to the market.

It’s easier to give people what they think they want rather than what you think they want.”

Despite this, Gary maintains that he still has a good level of input into the company he started and that, since Lance started tearing it up the French mountains, the company has put a lot more money into development and research. “I’m more like the eyes and ears now, someone comes up with an idea and I have a look and let them know if it’ll work.”

It’s obvious that Gary has had to make a few adjustments over the last few decades as his company has grown to be an international player. If he’s struggling in his role as talker rather than welder, you wouldn’t know it though. He continues in his light-hearted mellow drawl, “Some of these engineers we have on board, they come up with the most out-there designs, really wacky ideas, and I’m the guy who tells them whether we can turn it into a bike. You have to know the rules in order to break them.”

More info on Gary Fisher, the man and the bikes, can be found at www.fisherbikes.com

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Climbing away from the beach on stage 1

Enduro made the trip to the Margaret River region of Western Australia in late October to check out the inaugural Cape to Cape MTB – 4 days, 4 stages and over 170km of mountain biking over sealed roads, through wineries and across beaches. Read on for our week of racing on the west-side.

CAPE TO CAPE

Words by James Williamson Photos: Bohdan Warchomij and Cape to Cape

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race up

W

e turned left off a fast section of sealed road and hit the sandy fire roads. After riding in some big hills and through thick bushland we were now into undulating scrubby coastline, heading for the beach. It was like steering a boat through the twisty sandy descents but I wasn’t too worried about crashing - the landing was soft and the excitement of the stage was overpowering any sense of caution. More descending and we hit the beach. It was supposed to be hard-pack but the tide was in and the only way to keep pedalling was to ride at the water’s edge. The wind-blown waves smashed at my tyres as I tried to maintain some sort of traction and momentum. It was tough going but I managed a sweaty, sandy smile. I was in a new part of Australia, riding through some awesome scenery with similarly enthused mountain bikers from all over the world – this was mountain biking at its best!

Compared to the east side of Aus-

tralia, Western Australia doesn’t get much publicity when it comes to mountain biking. The state has held a national series race or two, and our magazine often covers the Great Karri Ride, a one day mountain bike festival, but apart from that WA is pretty quiet.

Enter the Cape to Cape. Jason Dover and Chris Heverin came up with the idea of a mountain bike tour through the Margaret River region over three years ago but it wasn’t until Eventscorp – a division of WA Tourism – got on board that things really started to heat up. Countless meetings with landowners, environmental groups and local communities later, the Cape to Cape was ready to roll. The event is so named

because it travels from the southerly point of Cape Leeuwin, north through Margaret River, to Cape Naturaliste.

I’d seen ‘Margaret River’ printed on wine bottles at the local bottle shop but that was the extent of my knowledge of the area. After arriving, going for a walk and checking out some maps, I soon learned that it’s a pretty amazing

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Clockwise from opposite page: Cape Leeuwin lighthouse…a stunning backdrop for the start of stage one | Rohin Adams and Enduro’s Willo on the beach section. They chased each other around all week and ended up with two stage wins each | Santa Cruz’s Johnny Waddell putting his power-packed thighs to good use during the beach section | Riders relax before stage one

part of the world with a handful of national parks and a rugged coastline, unspoilt by the development that we’re so used to on the eastern side of Australia. After a bit more time there, having gone for a ride and chatted to some locals, I learned that here are two things the region is renowned for - wine and surfing.

The place is saturated with wineries.

Some are elegantly subtle, others…aren’t.

The area is also host to the Margaret River Pro, a massive yearly surfing contest. The locals are proud of their surfing. Their claim to fame is that world renowned surfer Taj Burrow lives in Yallingup – 50 km from Margaret river and a stop-over town in the Cape to Cape. When I was first told about this local legend I asked “Who’s that?” That was a mistake - being ignorant is one thing, lacking the tact to conceal it is another.

It didn’t earn me too many friends. Even mountain bikers learn from their mistakes though and I acted suitably awe-struck the other 50-odd times I was told.

So that’s the region at its simplistic

touristy best. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find an area with some of the best outdoor adventures in Australia. With an impressive network of caves to be explored, rocks to be climbed and trails to be walked or ridden, all in the surrounds of atmospheric little towns guaranteed to be only a couple of minutes from great surf and limitless wine tasting – it was shaping up to be an exciting week.

Chris Letts – or Lettsy - Ride Director and one of the many characters of the week, presented the stage 1 course to us from the Augusta Hotel on the opening night

with a map of the first day’s race lighting up the wall. He talked us through the stage, explained how he’d ridden it a few months earlier and described in broad terms what to expect. This was a man sharing his long-

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Clockwise from top: Local cows were oblivious to the bunch of idiots in Lycra the creek sections on stage 2 provided some entertainment | the free bike wash being put to good use | the start of stage 2

...the scenery continued to amaze, even if it’s sometimes tough to take in through sweat-fogged glasses... it’s Aussie coastline as it should be. held dream to a bunch of non-locals and we couldn’t help but be captivated. I had only been there long enough to have a few sips of my local beer and even I was getting excited, it was infectious “Now remember it’s not about it being a race. I want you to enjoy it out there, there’s some pretty amazing scenery and trails to take in.” So we returned to our accommodation at Caves House, Yallingup, that night itching to get out there and experience some of Lettsy’s excitement for ourselves.

A gourmet breakfast with every possible combination of everything on offer and a car trip to Cape Leeuwin later, we were on the start line framed by one of the most amazing backdrops to a stage start that I’ve seen. The seven storey Cape Leeuwin light

house was built in 1896: It’s an impressive piece of brickwork. The lighthouse sits at the most South Westerly point of Australia where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.

Historic monuments are great, so is geography, but as I’ve learnt countless times in the past, a stage start waits for no one so we grabbed our bikes and lined up for stage 1 not really knowing what to expect.

The stage had it all. After some tough climbs we were ripping down sandy descents, not knowing what was around each corner but knowing that if you didn’t quite make it, it was at least a soft landing. After descending for a good while we hit the beach – these races are about adventure and the beach section was a massive adventure. For one section I was riding on the fine and mas-

sively variable ‘point’ where the water meets the sand, searching for hard-pack, when my wheel suddenly dropped about a half a metre into a sand hole. I managed to hold the bike upright, but it was just another reminder of the just how much of an adventure the Cape to Cape was proving to be.

Following the beach section we hit some undulating sandy climbs. Super-fast descents were met by soft sand transitions, slowing you to a snail’s-pace before hitting another steep, sandy climb. With tired legs from trying to maintain momentum on the beach, this next section was the toughest of the day. From there it was blissful hard-pack dirt road and a final section of sealed road to the stop-over at Hamelin Bay. So that was that, it had been a stage with plenty of variety and a stage for mountain bikers – I couldn’t have asked for more.

On top of this, from the perspective of an east-side Aussie, the scenery continued to amaze, even if it’s sometimes tough to take in through sweat-fogged glasses. The coast-

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Clockwise from right: The riders from Squirt Lube had a great week Enduro’s Niki descends on stage 4 | there were plenty of smiles out there

line is wild and open – it’s Aussie coastline as it should be.

Having chatted about the stage until it could be talked about no more, we peeled of our sweaty cycling kit, gave our bikes a tub courtesy of the free bike wash, and headed to the beach for a swim.

I can’t remember the last time I sat on a school bus, something about them makes me feel like an excited little kid. The bus, organised by the race management, rumbled along on its way to Karridale Tavern for the first night’s dinner and presentation. Riders chatted about the day and what to expect from tomorrow, there was a general mood of tired contentment. As the bus continued its cruisy pace and I reflected on the day I couldn’t help but feel that youthful excitement coming back to me.

Dinner was great, so was the beer. The night gathering offered the chance for people to swap stories. Lettsy offered his comic interpretation of the day from an organisational perspective, Jason and Chris talked us through their impressions of stage 1, the day ahead and rider stories from the first day of racing. That infectious excitement was still there. In fact, it was growing. All three guys – Jason, Chris and Lettsy – were very good public speakers. These little things make a big difference.

Having got a taste of the surf on stage 1, stage 2 saw us deviate through the local Leeuwin Estate Winery. Appropriately too, where the surf section was rugged and tough, the winery experience saw us glide over pristine lawn while wine-lovers watched on from a nearby balcony.

It was an interesting addition to a stage that left sealed road after 9km and hit a lactic inducing dirt climb followed by a fast

...this race was about variety. In a few descent over some massive water bars. hours we went from pushing tired legs After that bit of excitement it was an aweup tough climbs and walking through water crossings to sipping on local some section of double-track through the beers at the Colonial Brewery ancient Boranup Forest. The trails were a mixture of fast, sandy and rocky. Next we were in the open, close to the coastline and hitting a white limestone rock climb. There the week. We descended an exhilaratingly were patches of dirt but we were mainly fast, twisty descent through sand and climbing on the rock - this limestone section hard-pack with the beach below us – was spectacular.

Winery deviation aside, the second half of the stage offered less stimulation Photo: Travis Deane with predominantly flat, fast fire road. The day finished on some rail trails, complete with gates we had to open and close, to take us into the slightly inland town of Margaret River.

I was quickly learning that, with its interesting little stop-over towns, this race was about variety. In a few hours we went from pushing tired legs up tough climbs and walking through water crossings to sipping on local beers at the Colonial Brewery. With the stage done in 2-3 hrs for most, it left an entire afternoon to check out other attractions of the area.

Lettsy was struggling with his projector at the Margaret River Hotel that night, so there was no map lighting up the wall to explain stage 3. He left us with the ominous words that stage 3 was undoubtedly the toughest, with some fast flat sections early, but tough sandy climbs later. As I sipped on some local region wine, mountain bike racing seemed about a million miles away.

But less than 24hrs later I was slogging my way up a long, sandy climb – “the toughest climb of the day”, I vaguely recalled Lettsy saying. It wasn’t. Although it did reveal what, for me, was the most amazing backdrop of

awesome stuff and motivation in itself to keep applying pressure on the pedals. From there the real mountain biking of the day continued with undulating sections through the coastal shrubbery.

It wasn’t over though. We hit the sealed

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Caves Road after about 40km before ducking back up into the hills for the final few km into Caves House. This is where I started dreaming – or hallucinating – about a happier place with plenty of those local beers.

The trails were constantly undulating with descents over in seconds followed by long, slow climbs. They wouldn’t have been so bad but for the soft sand with its invisible yet strong hands grabbing your wheels. I was

The wire got caught around my back wheel by the time I realised it was electric. Every time I touched my bike it would zap me willing myself up every little climb, telling myself it had to be the last, only to see another similarly formidable climb in the distance. It was tough. But as we’ve all learnt – you can pull yourself inside out if it means a descent to the finish. The descent wasn’t particularly steep, or particularly fast, but the feeling of having the wheels turn without too much pedal input was beautiful. From there it was a quick dash through the Yallingup Caravan Park and through to Caves House for the stage finish.

As the event was developing so were the stories. It was great to see people relax into the week. “I was riding along in the wind and I got caught up in a section of wire on the course. The wire got caught around my back

wheel by the time I realised it was electric.

Every time I touched my bike it would zap me. I finally managed to get the bike out by touching the only rubber sections of the bike – the hand grips and the tyres!” This story was met by roaring laughter in the packed dining room at Caves House the night of stage 3. This, along with a memorable speech from stage 2 winner Rohin Adams, made this night the most enjoyable yet. The rosy evening was also helped by an afternoon of tasting the region’s wines.

The sand had been a challenge all week but it never got to the point of being too much until stage 4. This was a loop from the nearby Ngligi Cave up to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and back to a final stage finish at the gardens of Caves House. The last few km of descending was great fun, the rest was tough. It started with a climb and never really got any easier with heavy sand patches making it feel like a constant climb into a headwind – not too much fun. Still, the loop on sealed road around the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse was great with spectators lining the upper section. The toughness of the stage meant it was certainly a rewarding feeling crossing the finish line for the last time to lie down, only just alive, in the lush gardens of Caves House, a perfect environment to trade war stories. These post-race social sessions became an integral part

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of the week and something to really look forward to.

After a quick shower the wine and beer flowed and the presentation did a great job of wrapping up an unforgettable week. Even the sun was shining.

The Cape to Cape was a memorable four days. The organisation of the event was impressive; there are plenty of events out there that could learn from these guys. It’s the little things that make a big difference: things like offering a free 10 minute massage post-stage, setting up a free bike wash and going to the trouble of getting everyone together for the nightly dinners. On top of this, the region is an absolute winner.

The professionalism laid a great framework but it was the people that really made the week. That excited, enthusiastic vibe of the management team quickly saturated the event. The nightly dinners got more relaxed and fun until on the last night people were singing and dancing on the tables and shouting at each other like old friends.

Pushing yourself and digging deep alongside a bunch of others is great for quickly getting to the core of one’s character, and quickly making great friends – this was obvious at the Cape to Cape. An event’s success is so often measured by competitor numbers but after my week in WA, I can safely say it’s about much more than that.

More info: www.capetocapemtb.com

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46

An Epic Weekend!

The 2008 Flight Centre Epic and Mega Epic Weekend Words by Nick Both | Photos: Koala Productions

M

ountain bike races come and mountain bike races go. The reasons for these comings and goings are often curious. I’ve known some great events that have been laid to rest over the years only because the timing was wrong or the numbers were low due to bad weather.

But one event, a mainstay in the Australian mountain biking marathon calendar, has continued to grow and prosper over these lean times – the 100km Flight Centre Epic and the 200km Mega Epic in Queensland. One of the main reasons for this continued upturn in growth could well be the amount of choice available to everybody at this event; rangrace up ing from the fastest of the whippets right down to kids as young as five. This really is the people’s race, Chairman Mao would be proud.

If the 200km “Mega” option over the two days seems a little out of reach for most, there are plenty of other options with the traditional 100km being held on the Sunday in conjunction with 50km, 20km and 12km and 5km kids’ rides.

The traditional 100km option starting at Preston Peak Winery, just outside of Toowoomba, is a must do. This takes in some of the best trails the region has to offer.

Starting with plenty of altitude to lose over

the first 30km makes this section of the Bicentennial trail, some 3000km long in total, a real favorite and keeps people such as myself coming back year after year just to ride it again.

What follows is an account of what you’ll encounter if you have the good sense to race this jewel in the crown of the Australian enduro racing calendar.

The early kilometres of the day feature flowing, fast single-track punctuated with farm gates and creek crossings; there is quite often more than one route through sections, some faster than others. Keep your wits about you and find the best lines for maximum fun or outright speed. Beware of the rain though, in previous years this trail following Ma Ma creek has been known to take legs and bikes prisoner with its unique blend of black mud that gets everywhere and sticks to everything. This is probably one of the few times you will hear people say thanks for the dust.

Major lung buster number one comes in the form of the Razorback. There is a feed station at the bottom, so stock up. The Razorback is a steep fire road ascent that sees you flirting with some of the smaller gears you never (admit to) riding. Of course, what goes up must come down and the down here comes in the form of the “Devil’s tail”. Here’s where anyone with a need for speed will be

choice [is] available to everybody ...ranging from the fastest of the whippets right down to kids as young as five. This really is the people’s race, Chairman Mao would be proud

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Opposite page clockwise from left: winner Chris Jongewaard | racing hard | crashing hard | motivation to keep pedalling.

This page: Crisp air and sunshine… mountain biking at its best

happiest, with tarmac so steep it’s repaved weekly because it continually slips off the hill.

With the right wind, speeds of 100+kph can be, and are, achieved. Fair caution though, the wind can also play havoc, especially when the tarmac turns to gravel toward the bottom. People on uni-cycles have ridden down this successfully, but if you’re the cautious type you know where the brakes are and how to use them. To get the inside story on how steep the “Devils tail” really is, talk to one of the Mega Epic riders, as they ride the majority of the course in reverse on the Saturday.

You’ll get the idea if you imagine riding against a moving airport walkway on 45 degree angle.

And no, you can’t use the handrails.

Another well equipped feed zone is the reward for your hard work, keeping energy levels high for the fun to come. Laidly Gap may not fulfill the exact criteria of “fun”, unless you are someone who thinks it is appropriate that undersized Mars bars are called “fun”. But it’s here that no one is alone. I haven’t seen the sort of camaraderie I saw this day, on this hill, during a mountain bike event before or since this day. Laidly Gap has a fierce sting in the tail and anybody game enough to tackle it head on and give it everything is considered a hero. It is always crawling with competitors, literally, and the cheers and atmosphere here will inspire you. I give particular thanks to the genius who packed his iPod and speakers into

a Camelback, pumping Pearl Jam out loud and clear to the masses. I dare say the group he was with was reluctant to leave him at any point during the event for fear of losing the hard-pumping aural inspiration.

Fun is now on your doorstep. Make it to the Peppers Hidden Vale property and it’s nothing but sweet, winding single-track all the way to the finish where you will be greeted by family, friends, smiling volunteers and beer.

Focus on the job at hand first, you don’t yet have beer and there’s still 10km left to ride. If you’ve left something in the tank this section of single-track will thrill you, if not, kill you.

It’s always hard to be motivated this far into a long event, but the lure of the finish line ensures the legs keep turning.

Finishing means a job well done, a shady patch on the lush resort grass, kicking back with your mates and enjoying a cold beverage. Maybe you’ll be back sooner than you think. Peppers Hidden Vale is unique in that it’s one of the few luxury resorts where you can take a mountain bike to play. They are constantly building new trails with the current singletrack tally at around the 50km mark and this is set to double in the coming years.

More importantly the builders are riders, like you and me, and have the experience to know what we want in a trail, making this a perfect weekend retreat for those who also enjoy the finer things in life.

Who said mountain biking had to be hard?

Fun is now on your doorstep.

Make it to the Peppers Hidden Vale property and it’s nothing but sweet, winding single-track all the way to the finish where you will be greeted by family, friends, smiling volunteers and beer

Five days of incredible mountain bike racing along the sweet single track and dusty trails of the majestic MacDonnell Ranges in the Red Centre.

CH 2009 21-22 MAR ictorian Mt Buller, V lia Alps, Austra t about All that is grea g in one mountain bikin cation. spectacular lo incredible Two days of ong ike racing al mountain b and lar trails in the spectacu e th d uller an around Mt B sâ&#x20AC;Ś Victorian Alp g n ki breathta 9: March, 200 Saturday 21 around 25km XC race AM: A thrilling track. le ng si new their cranking ountry per-D (cross-c PM: A 7km Su ster oa rc lle n a ro downhill) dow t. en sc de 600m-vertical erâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ill-you-drop rid PM: A party-t celebration.

09: ch 22nd, 20 Sunday Mar wing flo g race alon AM: 55km XC ical ag m a in ils wilderness tra . alpine setting

25-29 May, 2009 This truly was one of the best events I've ever been part of.

James Williamson, 2008 World 24hr MTB Champion and Enduro magazine editor

One hell of a good race.

ullerm www.bikeb

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Huw Kingston, Highland Fling Race Director and outdoor legend

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Where’s the studded tyres when you need ‘em…an isolated snow drift high up on the epic ride

riding the euro alps Photos: sam maffett

Sam Maffett exchanged Melbourne winter for Euro summer which gave him 7 days of mountain biking through some of the most dramatic French peaks. Below he offers his version of holiday bliss.

I

t was going to be flaming great. In fact I can’t remember being this excited before a holiday for a long time. French Alps, guided XC and DH riding, car and ski-lift rides up and flowing singletrack descents down, our own fully-catered mountain chalet, meeting up with a group of old mates from the UK, no e-mails, no mobiles and no stress, just plenty of riding in the European summer – does it get any better?

Yep, it was with smug smiles on our faces and bike boxes loaded with toys that my wife and I jet-set out of a rainy Melbourne in late June on our way to the ultimate mountain bike holiday. An old mate of ours called Ali from the UK had set up a mountain bike tour company called Trail Addiction and we were booked in for a ‘back country special’ with 7 days of awesome mountain biking in and around Val d’Isere, Les Arcs and Bourg St Maurice in the magnificent French Alps.

Topping it off was the fact that a few other mountain biking buddies from the UK were joining us for the week, making a crew of 4 plus Ali the guide – here we had the makings of a dream holiday.

Flights to Europe are long in anyone’s book. But when you pick your bike up from oversize luggage and see that it is still in one piece, you’re met at the airport by a bunch of mates with a 10 seater minivan and trailer and you can smell the first of many French baker-

ies just around the corner, the flight was forgotten within a second.

Mmmm, French pains au chocolat and croissants are so good! After a couple of hours driving we’d not only stopped at a couple of those bakeries but we’d been delivered to our home for the next 10 days – a magnificent alpine chalet in a tiny little village on the side of some very big mountains. After a long sleep we were primed and ready for action.

It was ‘action stations’ the following morning as we set off to explore the first of a multitude of local trails, following Ali down a swooping, twisting and rolling double-track through the forest to the river valley below. Woohoo! I can still remember the strain on my cheeks from smiling so much as I pulled into the car park at the bottom. From here on we yo-yoed our way up and down the valley, being picked up in the van at the valley bottom and deposited at a trail head 1000m vertical metres higher up to ride another flowing descent.

We were based in the little village of Peisey-Nancroix in the mountains near Bourg St. Maurice but it might as well have been nirvana as there were trails just about everywhere. The riding was super fun and varied; some trails were steep and descended the mountain via a technical route of rocky switchbacks, others were

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50

The local village mid-summer bonfire - surrounded by Mountains

Refilling at one of the many village water fountains

Checking out the view near Val d’Isere

faster and more open, allowing you to ease up on the brakes and let the bike go – my personal favourites. It really is an exhilarating feeling when you feel the bike accelerate under you, becoming weightless as the pull of gravity propels you down the mountain – yeah baby let me at it!

Our week of riding was one of Trail Addiction’s ‘Back Country’ specials, meaning that we weren’t just riding downhill in ski resorts or next to major roads all day, oh no, we were putting in the hard yards, pedalling up some of these behemoths as well. This allowed us to get away from the roads and the shop-lined alpine villages and into the mountain wilderness above the tree-line. After a major up-lift in the car we’d be dropped off well above the forest amidst beautiful alpine lakes, rocky cliff faces and rolling grassy fields. Then we’d follow winding singletracks that weaved their way around the landmarks back down to the valley floor. Often we’d climb back up over another pass or cross another mountain range mid-way through the descent, giving us a good opportunity to burn off all the French bakery products we’d been consuming.

After all this riding there was one day that really stood out as the ‘piece de resistance’ – our day over Mont Jovet. As usual, the day started with a couple of croissants over breakfast and then a quick burn down the local trails to the minivan pickup at the bottom for the ever-satisfying drive up yet another mountain. This time it was up through the La Plagne ski resort (the finish to a few epic Tour de France stages I’m told) to a remote alpine col on the other side. The ride starting point was among a few snow drifts and a spectacular array of mountain peaks around 2500m high, with the

51

valley out of view about 2000m vertical metres below us!

The trail started from the minivan’s back door with a flowing line of hard packed singletrack carving a fine line through the alpine meadows. The trail was flanked by wildflowers and daisies, and straight ahead was a jaw dropping view of Mont Blanc and the extensive European Alps stretching in all directions. The scenery was magnificent but so was the riding – I remember this trail like a surfer remembers their ultimate wave. The trail seemed to play with you as much as you played with it – slaloming around isolated alpine conifers where you’d sink into your suspension and crank out before dropping you off small rocky rollers allowing you to catch some speedy air with the confidence of Nathan Rennie. I felt like I was working the small gullies like a snowboarder works a half pipe: speeding through the bottom and then weightlessly and breathlessly turning at the top to do it all again.

The trail led us through a complete range of landscapes and down into the dense forests below only to pop out at a historic summer-only village made of ancient stone. Most of the buildings would have been old shepherds’ huts used for tending their flocks, and provided us with the perfect spot to catch a mid morning snack before the climb ahead. Stretching out above us was a zig-zagging dirt road that looked like Jacob’s ladder climbing up to the gods. This was where the trail exacted its revenge with a gruelling 1200m climb back over another pass. With our minivan miles away it was pedal power, apricot pastries and the ever increasing view that gave us muscle to conquer this one.

After many more kilometres of descending through gorgeous forests beside raging mountain streams, riding past cows with bells around their necks grazing in fields of flowers, and railing it down roller coaster trails that gave you plenty of joy, we finally arrived at the township in the valley floor. As 5 riders filled with the smiles only a good day’s riding can deliver we rolled into the city square, parked our bikes and pulled up a chair at the nearest café and ordered a round of beers. Ha, the French really do know how to live... Here we were drinking beers surrounded by historic buildings in this picturesque mountain town, having ridden from the tops of the peaks along amazing trails. It was full of sweetness in the company (and competition) of a bunch of mates who’d just shared a super fun day. All we had to do now was watch the scenery and down a beer or two as we waited for the minivan to take us back up to our alpine chalet for some more French cuisine.

Uou can almost smell the fresh alpine air

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The toughest decisions of the holiday – whether to ride or look at the view

Jimbo grinding uphill through the forest

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52 Yet more high altitude single track

AD Over the 7 days we had on our bikes we rode just on 350km and by my altimeter descended over 24,000 vertical metres never riding the same trail twice (the only dampener being that I broke my wrist on the last day – bugger). We were on our 120 – 140mm travel bikes with my Trek EX8 lapping it up and Kate’s Scott MC20 begging for more.

So if you want an epic mountain biking holiday overseas, want to live the good life and ride some wicked trails in the middle of the Aussie winter, then look no further than the French Alps. You only live once.

More info on Ali’s trail packages at www.trailaddiction.com

Troy Bailey Team BMC World 24 hour solo champion (35 to 39yo) Photo: Adam McLeod

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Dirt Works is a proud member of the Cycling Promotion Fund

Team BMC Australia is proudly supported by:

BMC road and mountain bikes are distributed exclusively by Dirt Works Australia 02 9679 8400 | bmc@dirtworks.com.au | www.bmc-racing.com

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54

90 hours and 1200km? Audax: a different style of endurance cycling.

There are no podiums, no prizes, no winners or rankings, so what’s the point?

Joel Mcfarlane-Roberts made the trip to the Victorian Riviera for the 2008 Great Southern Randoneé to find out more.

A

udax is an endurance road cycling discipline with a long history. In 1897, a group of Italian cyclists set out with the goal of riding 200km between sunrise and sunset. This first group became known as “Les Audacieux” meaning the brave, bold, or foolish. Today, Audax events can be anywhere between 50km and 2000km, with most lying in the 200-600km range. The goal is to finish the ride, via the prescribed route, within a certain time limit. Interim time limits also apply for the required checkpoints; therefore it’s important to carefully manage riding speed, energy and sleep in order to reach the checkpoints in time.

Audax is most well-known in Europe, with the Audax club of Paris being the de-facto international authority on the sport. In Australia, however, it gets very little press.

This may have something to do with its small membership in Australia – only a relatively small bunch of registered, regular participants even live here. I was interested enough to find out more.

Monday October 27th is an overcast, windy day. By 4pm a small crowd has gathered in the conference room of a motel in Airey’s Inlet, about one hour south-west of Geelong in Victoria. They leave their varied (that is, racing to touring and everything in between) bikes leaning against the hedges outside. Those who have registered to enter the event collect their documents, a sheaf of maps and route instructions with the valuable ‘brevet card’ included. On this card they will collect stamps and signatures to testify that they have passed through the checkpoints listed within certain time restraints.

These riders have opted to attempt the 1,200km/90 hour event within the broader event of the 2008 Great Southern Randoneé (GSR) – an event held every three years with Victoria’s Great Ocean Road as its stage. The GSR is one of Australia’s most well-known Audax events and has, this year, attracted a few riders from the UK, America and Europe.

At 5pm the ride begins. Heading east toward the first checkpoint, Queenscliff, at around the 85km mark, the riders have a pleasant tailwind through open agricultural areas and along sandy peninsulas. As they reach the first checkpoint, darkness sets in.

Lights are switched on, and the ride continues throughout the night. Checkpoint 2 is in Geelong, across the road from Kardinia Park.

From here it’s back to the start/finish to complete the 209km loop which is the first 1/6th of the ride. The riders all reach this point well before the 7am cut-off. Keeping within the time limits is not a great challenge, at least not in this early stage…

As the riders went off at their own varied paces I lost track of most of the participants. Audax is a battle against the clock, against the road, and often against one’s own body and mind. It can also be a profoundly solitary activity. Seeing other riders at the checkpoints every few hours gives a welcome opportunity for conversation, if one can spare the energy. The checkpoints are ticked off – Queenscliff 84km, Geelong 149km, Airey’s Inlet at 209km, Apollo Bay 273km, then through the gruelling Otway ranges to Port Campbell 371km, Cobden 411km, Port Fairy 498km (at which point I was forced to retire due to injury), toward the Grampian ranges to Hamilton 582km, Hall’s Gap 680km and Moyston at 712km.

At this point riders turn around and ride the route in reverse – knowing that every descent they enjoyed is now a climb, every tailwind a headwind. The ride back from halfway is always a lighter one, however, as though some force which resisted progress before is now drawing weary bodies back to the finishing point.

Finish they did, well all but 7 of the 31 entrants for the 1200km GSR did. 12 of 18 1000km entrants, 7 of 10 600km entrants, and all 10 of the 300km entrants also finished within the prescribed time limits. The beer at the finish was certainly well-earned.

Super long events like the GSR are less common than shorter events. 200, 300, 400 and 600km rides are run far more regularly.

“One day” rides of 400km or less are far easier to organise, and checkpoints may or may not be supported with food, drink and encouragement as they were on the GSR (as with mountain bike racing, these big events couldn’t run without the hard work of volunteers, many of whom sacrifice their own chance to ride in order to help out).

If long solo road rides sound a little boring to you, the more exciting Fleche Opperman might pique your interest. Named after Australia’s most famous cyclist (way more famous than Cadel), Hubert Opperman, the “Oppy” is the road equivalent of a 24hr mountain bike race. Get a team of 3 to 5 mates, plan a route which finishes in Rochester – Opperman’s birthplace and site of his museum, Victoria – or Dapto, near Wollongong in NSW. The route must be at least 360km long, and your team has 24 hours in which to complete it, riding together. The ride finish at 9am is also a communal barbecue where you can share your war stories.

The team which completes the longest distance in the allotted time is awarded the year’s Opperman Shield.

So why is this article even in a mountain bike magazine? Audax and endurance mountain biking have many things in common: The events are long (obviously); and for most people, they’re about challenging yourself, rather than about competition. Audax is almost completely non-competitive; the rides are hard enough to complete, let alone to race. Similarly, endurance mountain biking seems to attract a more relaxed sort of rider than shorter races. For most riders, setting and reaching personal goals is more important than achieving a certain placing.

If 24hr racing feels just that bit too short, or if all that twisty singletrack has you pining for the long open road, check out the Audax Australia website: www.audax.org.au

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A rider faces one of the many climbs Below: Riders gather for the start of an epic day

Flinging it Highlands style Words by John Lascelles Photos: John Fraser

T

ake your pick: 100 miles, 110 kilometres, 54 kilometres or 14 kilometres — The Highland Fling has something for everyone.

Now in its fourth year, this event attracts 1500 riders of all ages and abilities. It is now so popular that all 1500 places sold out in just over two weeks!

You can see why.

The Fling is held in the Southern Highlands of NSW, around the villages of Bundanoon, Penrose and Wingello. The course takes you over rolling green pastures, through eucalypt forests, pine forests and creek crossings in one of the most picturesque areas of the State. The course is not too technical, and consists of around 20% single track, with the rest being made up of fire roads, dirt roads, and old forestry trails. The atmosphere is fantastic. Everyone is out to have a good time, with the top riders in the country slugging it out for decent prize money, as well as casual riders doing it as a once-a-year personal challenge. It’s as serious as you want it to be, according to your own personal goals.

The Full Fling is the 110km event. I had my first go at it last year, and finished in terrible shape. There was a pile up of riders at the

bottom of a muddy slope. I fell on top of another guy and almost copped his pedal in my face. I swung my head to the side and took it in the neck instead. I crossed the finish line totally exhausted, looking like a victim of Count Dracula.

I was determined to do better this year, and so stepped up my training to include some extra long rides, as well as some MTB races with the Southern Highlands club. I was entered in the Super Masters Category, which sounds impressive, but all it means is a bunch of blokes in their 50’s. There were 37 of us in this category.

I always like to pace myself against another rider.

And if you’re going to use someone as a benchmark, why not go for the best?

And so I chose the defending Elite champion, Shaun Lewis.

Last year “Lewey” beat me by 3 hours and 2 minutes. My goal for this year was to close the gap.

570 riders assembled at the start for the Full Fling. We were organised into three waves according to the time we expected to take: less than 6 hours, 6 to 7 hours and over 7 hours. I went with the last group. The 21 Elite male riders were held back for 30 minutes, to allow the general mob to get well into the first stage. The 665 Half

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Full Fling – Men Elite

1st Craig Gordon (Rockstar Racing)

4:15:49

2nd Shaun Lewis (Mongoose)

4:17:44

3rd Matt Fleming (Clarence Street - Trek)

4:20:07

Full Fling – Women Elite

1st Stephanie Russell

5:27:49

2nd Katrin Van der Spiegel (Clarence Street - Trek)

5:30:50

3rd Trudy Nicholas

5:37:29

race up

Flingers (the 54km option) also started with the Elite men.

The first leg was the 28 km Vaude stage from Bundanoon to Wingello. Several hundred riders soon stretched out into a line of brightly coloured dots bobbing over undulating farmland. We were going at a good pace, but weren’t going too hard as we had a long day ahead of us. After about 20km the Elites came storming through.

First came Matt Fleming, followed a few seconds later by Lewey with a group of others. The pace of these guys was astonishing. I thought I was powering along, but they made me feel like I was riding in slowmotion.

After carrying my bike through a few creek crossings, I arrived at the Wingello transition feeling pretty good. I filled my water bottle, ate a banana, and set off on the middle stage. This was the Forestry NSW stage of 54 km. (The 100 milers have to do this bit twice!)

This stage consisted of fire roads, old forestry roads and single track. The single track was terrific. It snaked its way through huge banksia trees and lush eucalypt forest, and wasn’t too technical.

There were some steep fire roads on this stage, and I had to resort to the small chain ring a lot. Some were too steep to ride up, and most people got off and walked. There seemed to be no end to these

steep climbs. The rocky surface made it hard to get traction and this was the section that sorted out the weak from the strong.

The final section of this stage took us through open farmland, and along some fairly flat dirt roads. At last I shifted into the big chain ring and stomped on the pedals, and enjoyed going fast for a change.

After returning to Wingello, it was a relief to set off on the final leg, the 27 km Specialized Stage. I almost came off in some soft sand, and there were yet more steep climbs. Although I managed to ride up these, I wasn’t going much faster than the people who were walking.

I was hoping to finish the race in under 7 hours, but at the 100 km mark it became obvious that this wasn’t to be.

I crossed the finish line to yells of encouragement from other Southern Highlands riders in the crowd. I was tired, but not exhausted. I had kept up a steady effort all day, ridden consistently and avoided crashing. All that training had paid off.

And best of all, I even managed to close the gap on Lewey. This time he only beat me by 2 hours and 53 minutes! I’ll be back next year, aiming to close the gap even more - watch out Lewey!

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Opposite page clockwise from left: Weary but victoriousâ&#x20AC;Ś.Rockstar Racingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Craig Gordon; Hydrating and pedalling gets harder as the race wears on; A sandy fire-road section; This page: Gordo on his way to victory

highland fling

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Words by Paul Traynor Photos: Sportograf

Early in 2008 I got a phone call from Abbotsleigh Girls School in Sydney. Two of their Year 10 students had asked if it were possible to enter the Scott 24hr as a girls’ school team. So began our task of getting these girls to the biggest 24hr race in Australia!

race up

I

n order to prepare the team we entered some smaller endurance events to get the girls used to mountain bike racing.

We chose the BMC working week 8hr Series as a good place to start.

Our first day out was an 8hr race in June at Killingworth near Newcastle in NSW. For a lot of the girls this was their first ever mountain bike event and their first time ever riding singletrack. Riding with a buddy for each lap to help them build confidence, the day went down well with plenty of enthusiastic girls looking forward to the next race. Liz Kemp, one of our 14 year old girls, said after the race that she enjoyed the company on

course: “its easier doing something challenging with a friend.” Welcome to team racing!

The next training day was at an 8hr race in Yarramundi, west of Sydney in late July.

This was a step-up with the girls racing two teams of 3 against each other with some more technical terrain thrown in. Come race morning the girls were at the start line full of beans and ready to punch out some laps.

There were a few more lumps and bumps post-race but the girls were improving and loving it.

Next it was time for a training camp at Canberra’s Majura Pines. Full team kit had been designed for the program and the

training camp signaled the time to officially roll it out. They certainly looked the part, more than a few Majura locals turned to check out this very pro-looking group of riders hooking around the trails.

We also introduced the girls to night riding at the camp. We practiced some short night laps compliments of Ay-Up lights. That evening all we could hear through the forest was ‘woops’ and screams of laughter as the girls flew back into our mock transition area totally exhilarated. It was awesome to see.

The girls were sent home from the camp with more smiles and the challenge of changing a punctured inner tube as quickly

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Opposite page: Susie Fulton shows some style This page: Isy Hawken stops to take in the intricacy of the trails | Tilly Horman cornering with style | Liz kemp putting that night lap training to good use | Rosie Stewart railing the berms

as possible. By the end of that week one of our team captains, Tilly Horman had practiced over 30 times and got it down to a mere 2 minutes 30 seconds. That beats me!

The Scott 24hr The girls had been given a thorough preparation so they’d be self-sufficient during the 24hr race. I would be racing with the Merida Flight Centre team and would have my own race to think about. Megan and Adam set up camp with the girls and their families on Friday afternoon and headed off to check-out the course while mums and dads had a look around the event arena and scoped out the best coffee van.

The mood was fantastic on Saturday morning and it really hit home with the girls and their families how absolutely massive the Scott 24hr really is. The focus was now simply on eating and drinking lots and enjoying all the hard work that they put in to get to this point.

The result after a tough weekend was the girls taking second place in the Female Schools category. They were all waiting at

the finish line for their last rider at the 24hr mark with only a few cuts and bruises and plenty more great stories. More importantly, they set out to accomplish a goal and smashed it! They worked together as a group of young debutants to successfully complete their first 24hr event and did it with a smile. It was then time for team photos and to swap Facebook details with their ‘rival’ team before freshening up for their podium appearance. True professionals!

The great thing about these 24hr races is, regardless of the level you race at, we all go through the same emotions during the race. You could almost see these feelings wash over the young girls: exhilaration, fatigue and a desperate craving for unhealthy food! The best bit was they were already planning next year’s 24hr event. Keep an eye out for them on a trail near you!

Huge thanks to the team. Thanks also to Adam Dubois and Megan Scott for their tireless work and Ian Robinson, Managing Director of Southbound Adventures for running with the program.

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61 It’s lunchtime at the Croc Trophy…just watch out for flying bottles

Words by Jo Bennett - Photos: John Flynn The 2008 Crocodile Trophy was the second major team event after the Scott 24hr for the Merida Flight Centre MTB team. The riders selected for the event carried some good form into the race with strong results at the previous Croc Trophy, along with a second and tenth at the BC Bike Race in Canada.

This year saw Tim Bennett and Nick Both return for another bash at the Croc. For Jo Bennett, your author, and Adrian Jackson, this was their first campaign. A fascinating battle took place between Jo and Belgian pro roadie, Karen Steurs. These two women were

locked in a daily dogfight with Jo grimly hanging onto the leader’s jersey for seven days before Karen’s perfectly-timed ascendancy.

For the boys, Tim and Nick didn’t enjoy the same form as they did in 2007 but then again, the Czech VIG Racing completely changed this year’s race, blowing everyone away with the exception of AJ, who picked up second place on day five, and Craig Gordon, who won stage eight. Read on for Jo’s account of the epic stage race.

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An outback bath, just watch out for crocs

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he race took us through 1200km (the distance between Brisbane and Canberra) over 10 days on a mountain bike with 35 degree plus days, rough corrugated sandy dirt roads, even crocodiles, guess that’s why they call it the Crocodile Trophy – what an experience.

I decided that I wanted to race the Crocodile Trophy early in the year when I switched my focus from Ironman triathlons to mountain biking. Tim, my husband and Nick Both (Merida Flight Centre teammate) had raced the Croc last year, and, strangely, I’d heard only good things about the race. I thought that with my experience in endurance events I would be ready for the selfproclaimed ‘hardest, longest, hottest and most adventurous MTB race in the World.’

On the 17th of October, Tim and I left Perth and made our way to Cairns to meet up with our Merida Flight Centre team mates Nick Both and Adrian Jackson. We had a couple of days of relaxing, drinking coffee and sleeping in before the thought of racing crept into our minds. Our support crew Paul Traynor (also MFC teammate) and Peter Creagh (team director) met us on Monday to organise the support vehicle – an Aussie V8 Landcruiser decked out with all the fruit including spares, camping equipment and all the shopping for our trip.

Unfortunately, the coffee machine on our list didn’t make it into the shopping trolley. It was swapped for home brand foods. Apparently the shopping trip for Paul was a real experience – I wish I was there; it would have been a great laugh.

After a busy afternoon of stripping my bike and rebuilding it onto a new frame (thanks to the guys at Advanced Traders and Oliver at Trinity Cycles in Cairns) packing up the car, attending a pre race briefing and enjoying a nice dinner out, it was time to relax in a nice bed for the last time for 10 nights. AJ, Nick, Paul, Tim, Jo - day one, relaxed and clean.

Day 1: Mareeba – Irvinebank, 86km, 1100m climbing

We had a leisurely start to the day; racing didn’t start until 11.30am and race depart was 60km out of Cairns. We had a bit of time to relax in the shade before the madness started. The race started with 8km of apparently neutral riding which lasted about 5km, then it was on! The race broke up quickly; I managed to ride in the third group with about 15 men and was keeping tabs on one of my competitors, Karen from Belgium, and her two team mates. The first day in a stage race is always testing and fast. It seems we all wanted to suss out our competitors and see what form we had ourselves.

The first 36km was road and then we hit a sandy hill climb, and the start of the technical/rocky section of the race. I was able to get away with another five guys, and I pushed pretty hard through the sandy section once I had noticed that I made a bit of a break.

The boys had a good start to the race though the three, threeman VIG Racing teams from Czechoslovakia were too strong for everyone. Nick, Tim and AJ finished top ten - a good result for day one. AJ unfortunately over-cooked a corner and tasted the outback dirt. Shaken but not stirred he remounted and finished strong.

In the end, I made nearly four minutes on Karen, though it was just the start of a long 10 days. My first taste of a leader’s jersey at a stage race was a great way to cap off day one.

Day 2: Irvinebank - Koombaloomba Dam, 107km, 1400m climbing I was a little nervous heading into day 2, I now had a taste of the race and knew my competitors a little better. Today’s stage had around 50% bitumen so it was more of a roadie stage, it broke into a few large packs and we rode at a reasonable pace. I had a few Aussies in the bunch with me and enjoyed their humour and good company. Most of the stage I was wary of Karen and her entourage.

I was trying not to waste too much energy by staying at the front of the bunch but also wanted to be ready for any attacks. The group stayed together until about 10km to go when the road became more

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race up

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Opposite page: Nick Both and Adrian Jackson... team mates ‘til the end; This page: Clockwise from top: the team celebrate another stage win | a relieved Jo Bennett at the finish | driving the bunch through the dust

undulating, Karen made a break with a group and managed to stay away putting 47sec into the lead I had. Tim, AJ and Nick finished in the front bunch with about 10 other riders not counting the - you guessed it - three Czechs up the road.

Day 3: Koombaloomba Dam – Gunnawarra Lagoon, 122km, 2250m climbing Today was a bit of mountain biking treat with lots of steep ups and downs on loose rocky trails. For the first 30 minutes, I settled into a group of about 20 riders including Karen. This was the easier part of the day’s ride before we hit the powerline track and the tough rocky climbs began.

At about this point I was overjoyed to see a green dot in the distance that resembled one of my Merida Flight Centre teammates.

As I got closer I found my husband Tim had dropped back to give me some support as well, from that point on we worked together and put a lot of pressure on Karen and her team.

We made a lot of time up on the steep ups and downs and through the soft sand sections of the race. Unfortunately, the stage finished with 50km of good dirt road so it all came back together for Karen and I to sprint it out to the line. As it happened, the last 1km was soft sand, which gave me the upper hand to win the stage and maintain my leader’s jersey. Nick and AJ rode strong to finish about 10min in front of us!!

The swim after the stage at Gunnawarra lagoon was bliss; I even managed to shave my legs (the Euros were very impressed) though a little disappointed not to see any freshies [freshwater crocodiles - ED].

Day 4: Gunnawarra Lagoon – Chilagoe, 143km, 900m climbing Today’s stage was flat and long. The start of the race was broken up as we rode back out onto the road through the sand that we had finished on the day before. On the road there were a few attacks. AJ broke away with the lead pack and our group rolled through until we

rejoined the front bunch. Not long after that the road started to head skywards as the trail roughened. Nick and Tim got on the front and put a bit of pressure on the Belgians especially on the rough downhill sections. AJ stayed close to me to offer assistance in case of a flat. At this stage, Nick and AJ had also decided to drop back and offer assistance to my overall aspirations (for which I was very grateful).

The remainder of the stage was a little uneventful with all the boys in the bunch pulling aside with 1km to go to let Karen and I duke it out in a good ol’ fashioned sprint to the line. This time she edged me out by a knob on my Racing Ralph. It was a photo finish and we were given the same time.

Day 5: Chillagoe – Chillagoe, 100km, 1000m climbing Today’s stage was an out and back, we all thought it would be an easy day. Little did we know… AJ had decided that he was going to go with the leaders today and aim for a stage win. Tim, Nick and I ended up riding in a group with Karen and her husband again with team members from both of our teams.

Karen tried many times to attack the group, and worked her road racing skills. This did not work until about the 80km mark when she attacked on a slight rise. I didn’t have the legs to go with her and Christophe (her husband). For the last 20km, Tim and Nick worked hard at the front of the group while I grovelled a little behind them and about six others hung on the back. Karen stayed away with Christophe and brought my lead back by two minutes today. AJ flew the team flag and had an awesome ride to finish a close 2nd.

Owing to the ‘out and back’ stage, that night we returned to our lovely motel in Chillagoe and cranked up both the air-conditioning and the music to celebrate AJ’s great result ‘til about 3am! We had a great laugh in the morning when we found our partying friends passed out with about 10 empty cans of Bundy.

Day 6: Chillagoe – Mt Mulgrave, 120km, 500m climbing Today was flat and uneventful. Going into the stage I only had a

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It wasn’t all dust and corrugations out there | The long, dusty peloton

1min lead over Karen. This was in the back of my head during the day, and my plan was to protect my lead. I had a flat today and thanks to AJ I was quickly back on the road. Nick, Tim and another Aussie/Canadian Tim (thank you!) brought me back to the group and AJ worked hard and got back on. Again, Karen and I were together with 1km to go had a sprint finish in the bunch. Karen got the stage win, but made no time on my lead. Goal achieved.

Day 7: Mt Mulgrave – Laura, 148km, 1100m climbing Today’s stage was one of the longest and toughest, sandy and corrugated, though it proved to be a very eventful day for us. Nick broke away early and made the lead bunch but unfortunately suffered a flat and so rejoined us in the second bunch. I made a break early though the tough sand sections and put some time into Karen. Tim, Nick and AJ did the lion’s share of the work over the last 30km to bring me home with an advantage of 4 ½ minutes over Karen. A great day for me and the team!

Day 8: Laura – Cooktown, 142km, 1050m climbing Karen’s stage race experience shone though today. Things were going well early on – I was marking Karen’s moves as well as I could despite the dirty tactics like attacking in the feed zones! Then the hills started, and I was quickly going backwards compared to Karen. She managed to get in a bunch ahead of us, which would not have been too bad except that she had 20 Belgians working for her (some actually waited for her at a feed zone!) while we were stuck in a bunch with plenty of parasites, so it was up to my three teammates to drive it into the block headwind into Cooktown. It was a bad day, and I lost the jersey plus 9 minutes to Karen. The bonus of today’s stage was my first beer of the week, a nice air conditioned room and a swimming pool.

Day 9: Cooktown – Ayton, 124km, 1900m climbing Today was our last stand, as tomorrow would be a neutral stage, and our aim was to peg back Karen and get onto the top step. We threw everything at them making some time on the downhill rocky sections in the first 30km, but in the end Karen proved stronger on the steep finale, and I lost more time.

Day 10: Ayton – Cape Tribulation, 49km, 700m climbing Today was a great day; we had plenty of time to catch up with our friends from all around the world, reminiscing about days that seemed so long ago. The feed zone was a little different today, no attacking or yelling for drinks, we stopped for about 45min, drank some beer, and rested waiting for the tail enders. We all rode together for the last 10km before hitting the beach at Cape Tribulation. It was the perfect finish to a long hard 10 days of racing.

All in all I enjoyed the race, gained a lot of experience and didn’t walk away empty-handed, winning three boomerangs (stage wins) and having seven illustrious days in the leader’s jersey.

I would like to say a huge thankyou to Tim, Nick and AJ who sacrificed their ambitions of the Crocodile trophy 2008 to help me try to achieve the ultimate result. I would also like to thank our fellow teammate and support crew. The rock of the team was Paul Traynor, our godsend, who did all the cooking, cleaning, DJ’ing, meeting us at the feed depots, listening to all our bullshit (and telling some wicked jokes) plus Pete Creagh for adhering to the team budget, Home Brand food, massages, beers, and comical entertainment. Last but not least all the sponsors of the Merida Flight Centre Team.

The Crocodile Trophy experience was amazing; the camaraderie between the riders, sleeping under the stars and riding my bike for 10 days with my friends was truly unforgettable.

The Croc is a brutal race that favours the roadies with the long stretches of sealed and unsealed road. Regardless of this fact, it still requires a high level of commitment and more importantly physical and mental toughness. Anyone thinking of accepting this challenge will benefit from a dedicated support team, both riders and crew. The Czechs, VIG racing came to the race with a plan to win and nothing was going to get in the way of that goal. The stakes are much higher for the Euros, as the Croc has a great following in Europe and a good result is pure gold. But don’t be fooled by the elite nature of the pointy end of the race, the riders of the Croc represent every facet of mountain biking. Everyone suffers, the quick guys for less time, and all share the common bond of overcoming adversity and riding in the toughest mountain bike race in the world.

We have been told the 2009 Crocodile Trophy will be more of a ‘mountain bike’ race, will we go back? Ask Pete … ‘Just shut up and ride!’

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7 days, 500km, 14,000 metres of vertical climbing, Victoria to Whistler on the Canadian west coast in beautiful British Columbia, it can only be the BC Bike Race. The BC Bike Race was created to rival the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;slog-festâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the Trans Rockies, a race to add to the epic race calendar alongside the Cape Epic, Trans Alp and Lu Ruta. While Lu Ruta is said to be the toughest mountain bike race on earth, the BC Bike Race promises to be the ultimate singletrack experience. With the lure of the finest singletrack in the world on the parcour, the race drew competitors from 23 countries.

Words by Kim Whitehouse | PHOTOS: Dave Silver/BC Bike Race

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Stage 1 – Shawnigan Lake to Lake Cowichan

Distance: 89km

race up

The race began on a cloudless, humid morning at the Shawnigan Lake School; nerves and adrenaline heightening the anticipation of all as music pumped and the countdown began. As a helicopter buzzed overhead, racers cast their eyes skyward exclaiming, ‘This is how it must feel to be a pro!’ as cameras peered down on the scene.

he race is a team event with teams of 2 and 4 competing in the standard categories. My husband Chris and I would race in the Open Mixed category, under the name of CBD Sydney in recognition of the support Hugh Flower and his team at City Bike Depot provided us in the lead up to our journey to Canada.

We were off with a shot for two laps around the school grounds before heading off into the singletrack that we were all eagerly anticipating. The two laps of the school were to provide a problem free warm up, however a freshly cut paddock would see Chris Eatough running back to his support crew with a broken chain and rear hanger, numerous others suffered the same fate as chains and rear mechs jammed with grass and failed under the strain of impatient legs. Ironically this paddock had been named the Field of Dreams during the race briefing.

Competition was fierce, with pro teams competing in the Open Men’s and Mixed categories. Competition was tight with the likes of Chris Eatough, Andreas Hestler, and Tinker Juarez. There were Olympians, weekend warriors and those, like my husband and I, who had trained for many months to be the best that we could be, aiming to get the most out of the experience of racing a multi-day event many miles from home. The elite teams would race for podium positions, whilst the majority would race purely for fun and to achieve their personal goal of finishing.

The day become a mix of some ultimate and some very average singletrack linked by logging road (fire road) and small sections of bitumen. We wound our way through thick ferns, over slippery roots and up a hideous hike-abike section 10km into the ride which had people cursing.

Those with cross country bikes were thankful for their light weight selection whilst those with 6 inches of travel were left struggling. 6 inches would prove to be the better selection as the race progressed.

As racers gathered at the Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island it became evident this was no recreational mountain bike race.

This was serious. Serious legs, serious muscles primed in anticipation for the ultimate singletrack experience. The air was filled with the exotic sounds of foreign accents as we waited patiently in line for registration under a clear sky. ‘If only the weather holds’, said one local only to be reminded by another that ‘we live in a rainforest.

It rains 350 days a year!’. Chris and I had come prepared for rain but it looked like heat was going to play its part.

The day was hot as temperatures hovered around the mid 30s, and Chris and I were thankful for the water and sports drink we had in our hydration packs, as there would be no water left for many of us to refill at the final aid station of the day. Many who had saved on water weight would end the day hooked up to an intravenous needle in the medical tent; not a good way to begin a 7 day stage race.

T

Upon being registered, we were issued with large wheelie bags filled with the normal race paraphernalia; we would not realise how good these wheels would be until each and every morning and evening as we broke and then made camp in tent city after a hard day’s racing.

Upon registration the challenging logistics of this race became evident.

300 riders, riding an average of 70km per day for 7 days, were eating and sleeping in 6 different camps from Victoria to Whistler. A herd of rental trucks lined up alongside 2 semi trailers to haul gear, tents, and our bikes on a number of occasions, across the west coast from start to finish.

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Stage 2 - Lake Cowichan to Port Alberni

Distance: 125km

The organisers apologised for this stage stating that ‘There comes a time in every stage race when we just have to get you from A to B. These stages are not often much fun …the best thing is there is only one of them!

Only one 125km day.’

A controlled start provided the perfect opportunity to spin the legs out before beginning the long slog that stretched out in front of us.

race up

Stage 3 – Post Alberni to Cumberland

Distance: 80km

After a great day in the saddle, Chris and I found ourselves approaching the spiky end of Group B (the race was divided into 3 categories: A, B and C, made up of approximately 100 riders in each group) where there were more race-faces and a lot less chit-chat, however this stage would prove to be our favourite. The course was a mix of gentle singletrack climbs, icy river crossings and fast logging roads with white knuckle gravel descents.

We were treated to an ice bath early on as we plunged into a fast flowing frigid river of snow melt. The temperature drop cleared the legs, ensuring that they would spin effortlessly up a steep slippery climb out from the river’s edge.

The stage was not only fun, it was incredibly beautiful.

Mid-way through one climb, light dappled the trail ahead through the towering Douglas firs, the granny gear span, a voice from behind rang out: ‘Oh look, there’s God!’ I raise my head and it is indeed a heavenly sight. Towering snow capped mountains, wispy white clouds against a clear blue sky. “So do you think He is going to let us in?’, ‘Nope. I reckon he will say: ‘You look like you are enjoying purgatory, back down the mountain you go!” Banter such as this would keep spirits high as laughter comes easily when you are enjoying the challenge.

I rode to the finish line twisted, but pedaling, after I launched myself over a log, only to mess up the landing and crush my saddle (who knows how?). The bike went to the mechanics stand and I went to the ice bucket to decrease the bruising. Chris would give me his saddle whilst he endured the process of breaking-in a new one for the remainder of the race. The swapping of saddles seems insignificant, but it is these small sacrifices which make a successful team.

The course was primarily logging road which featured loose gravel, corrugation and dust. The stage benefited those who worked as a team and teams that worked well with other teams. This stage would be our fastest throughout the race and it would be the stage where our hours on the road bikes would pay off. We worked with two close friends from Sydney, Tim Neil and Wayne O’Young, with whom we had spent countless hours on our bikes in the lead up to the race. The stage provided the opportunity to chat briefly to those racing at a similar pace as we pulled and were pulled along. On this stage we met a team of one experienced epic rider (a group of riders who race the epics throughout the year) and a first time mountain bike racer clearly coerced into the race and not sure that he would ever enter a mountain bike race again after the day on the road.

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Stage 4 – Cumberland to Sechelt

Distance: 62km

An early 0430 wake up call before boarding yellow school buses (think Forrest Gump) departing at 0515 for Powell River and the first of our river crossings aboard BC Ferries. We sailed from Little River to Powell River, bused to Saltery Bay then sailed from Saltery Bay to Earls Cove, a journey that would take the best part of 4 hours. We breakfasted aboard the first ferry with eggs, bagels, cereal and coffee being consumed in huge amounts and donned lycra and chamois cream aboard ferry number two.

Stage 4 began with climbing, climbing and more climbing, 47km up and 18km down. Logging roads combined once again with steep technical singletrack climbs which had much of the field walking and talking. The impatient would push past, only to be caught up again as another rocky descent began.

As legs began to tire, tempers started to fray; the test of team dynamics began, as did the real test of endurance.

Good team dynamics are so crucial during multi-day stage races; you must know your team mate’s strengths and more importantly weaknesses; you must accept them and work together to overcome the obstacles which you will face.

Chris would buoy my spirits as I struggled through technical singletrack and I would keep spirits high when things bordered on the ridiculous. We would witness the arguments of some and enjoy the incredible team spirit of others.

Stage 5 – Sechelt to Squamish

Distance: 67km

An interesting day of riding began on logging roads, before some granny gear singletrack climbing to a ridge to follow power lines. The singletrack was great in parts with some tricky descents, one that would see one of the riders from a Mexican team break his nose on freshly cut singletrack in the race to beat a tight cut-off time which had to be met in order to make a ferry crossing. Many teams would not make the cut-off but would be sent down a shortcut from the 2nd aid station of the day. For these teams, it would mean a NOR (No Official Result) for the race, however they would be allowed to ride the final two stages.

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Stage 7 – Whistler

Distance: 47km Stage 6 – Squamish

Distance: 65km

The course designer had given a comical brief of the course making it sound like we were in for a whole lot of fun rather than a whole lot of pain. The first singletrack section encountered was aptly named the ‘Tracks from Hell’. They certainly were not from heaven. Again we were confronted with freshly cut singletrack which was bumpy and rooty, with no flow. Fortunately, as we rode on, the trail did redeem itself in places with some fun switchback descents with little room for error on the edges.

race up

More evil singletrack spat us onto a grinding climb, aptly named 9 mile climb. A local remarked it was a ‘climb to break the best climbers’. As we crested the hill we were ‘rewarded’ with a 25 minute descent which saw some serious bike carnage as cross country frames and components failing as they descended what could only be described as a downhill trail.

We had been promised a ‘highway’ to finish the day off, however the highway turned out to be ‘Route 99’; a technical section of singletrack with low North Shore structures, bridges and pinches combined with some serious off-camber bar-width track, with plunging descents to the valley floor. The trails were in fact fantastic, but they would have been more enjoyable with fresh legs. This stage would be the end for a few, as their spirits had been crushed by the demanding nature of the terrain. Dinner would see recently-abandoned riders looking to partner with others, as no racer races alone.

The journey neared its end with Chris and me anticipating a short enjoyable day to end the race. The stage was short in distance but long on time. The MC greeted us at the race start with ‘Yesterday we tenderised you with the most challenging day of the race, today we are throwing you on the grill and giving you a very tight cut-off time.’

Chris and I raced all day against the cut-off clock which meant that we could not really enjoy the trails that Whistler is famous for. We yo-yoed with those we had raced with all week and reached the first cut- off at 32km with 1 hour to spare so we figured that we were well within the time for the final-cut off at 43km, however it would seemingly take us forever to go the next 11km.

As we neared the cut-off time the game got dangerous as people took risks causing more bike and body carnage. The Mexican who broke his nose during Stage 5 was forced to run to the finish line with the front half of his bike, his team mate would cover the last 15km with the rest of his team mate’s bike strapped to his hydration pack.

Chris and I made the final cut off with 4 minutes to spare. We were pleased to finish and we made sure we did so with an official result however we were unhappy to hear that many who had raced with us in Group B had failed to make the final cut-off.

The BC Bike Race was an experience. The experience was made by the friends that we traveled with, the new friends that we met and the spectacular environment in which we raced. Each day was a challenge but each afternoon was memorable as we chatted over the stage, rested, ate and forged new friendships. If you ever get the chance to race a multi-day stage race with someone you trust and respect, DO IT, for you become better friends and better people when pushed to the limit.

TERRA AUSTRALIS

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Summer – how good is it! Long days, afternoon trail rides and BBQs. Those icy cold mornings fumbling with gear-shifts through thick ski gloves are all but forgotten.

This time of year has other perks too. The new gear bike-engineers have been poring over for months in darkened rooms with thick doors are now being delivered to us on a platter – all so that we can enjoy mountain biking more. Amazing, I know. We had fun putting this little preview together; we hope you have as much fun reading…and dreaming.

Ellsworth Truth $4449 (frame only) The Truth is now in its 16th year of refinement and has an enviable reputation to maintain. From all accounts, 2009 will be another corker for the 4 inch travel master of efficient suspension. At the core is Ellsworth’s Zero Energy Loss, Instant Center Tracking (ICT) suspension system. There’s also a new rear end, shock mount and a further shaped, swaged and tapered tubeset. If you’re going enduro or cross country in 2009, just remember that the Truth will set you free…

Intense Spider Fro $3500 (frame only) If you’re interested in going well fast then the new Fro with its 4.9 pound Easton EA6 frame ought to see you through. It’s got 4 inches of smooth, Fox RP23 Air sprung suspension at the rear and will accept 80 to 100mm up front. This frame looks the business and talks it too, with all its CNC machined bits running on easily serviced bearings. Maybe it comes in other colours, but in red, this thing looks fast just sitting there. Grow your hair and check one out!

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Santa Cruz Blur XC $3520; anodized - $3840 (frame only) Nothing blurry about this bike unless you’re being passed by it. Another XC weapon for 2009, the Blur XC is a 5.2 pound, 115mm travel aluminium frame with a splash of titanium (upper link) and a well crafted finish. It also moves away from the single pivot to a VPP design. Built for efficient riding, the bob-free suspension runs on sealed cartridge bearings and provides a ride that is quick on the trail, and did I mention the titanium link? It’s beautiful…

Santa Cruz Superlight $2520; anodized - $2920 (frame only) Getting all minimal is the Superlight, pared back to the bare minimum while still providing 100mm of travel in the rear. Unlike its blurry brother, there’s no virtual pivots, just one single 15mm axle hanging onto the rather elegant rear end. A solid performer in the past, the Superlight is certainly one to look out for if you’re interested in light, simple and pretty good looking versatile frames.

Jamis Dakar XCR Team $9899 The 2009 incarnation of this solid performer has new lighter carbon chainstays and dropout, carbon bell crank, a Rock Shox SID WC fork and 10mm rear shock mounting, Ritchey WCS stem, carbon post and bar... I think you get the idea. With the current level of refinement and general XTR and Mavic based parts, the 2009 Dakar XCR Team should be pretty hard to beat.

Jamis Dragon Pro $3699 With the number of track bikes masquerading as roadies around town, the Reynolds 853 hardtail from Jamis could look pretty much like the MTB equivalent. Maybe not. Minor upgrades from 2008 are mostly spec. changes.

Shimano XT and Sram are still the drivers, Avid Juicy 3s the stoppers and a Fox 32FLR fork up front. But seriously, just look at that simple, elegant and well-proportioned frame.

The 853 frame is what it’s all about and the blue and white paint job looks sweet. Get connected to the ground again and go fast with this one.

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Mongoose Canaan Team $5799 As if you needed any more choices for solid XC and enduro rides, here’s some more promising offerings. The Canaan Team, offered in black and maybe black if you ask nicely, has 100mm of Fox Float RP23 sprung suspension matched at the front with a Fox F1000 RLC 100mm fork. Ringle hubs, FSA carbon bar and stem, Crank Brothers Candy C pedals and FSA K-Force Lite hollow carbon cranks bring this thing in at 11.2Kg. Another valid choice from Mongoose.

Mongoose Meteore Team $5199 If the Jamis 853 frame looks a bit skinny to you, then the Xtrolite G7 butted aluminium hardtail frame of the Meteore Team might suit you better.

With 100mm of F32 FRL Fox shocking up front, FSA hollow carbon cranks, Sram XO rear and X9 shifters, Avid Elixir Carbon disk brakes and more carbon and titanium in the remaining mix, this bike can be reasonably expected to be very, very fast. Slimming down after Christmas? Give up, the Meteore Team is 9,7Kgs…

Cannondale Rize Carbon 1 $8800 How can you not be excited about this bike? Carbon and aluminium come together with some clever geometry to produce a bike that can do anything!

130mm front and rear travel, Mavic Crossmax ST UST wheels, XTR-XT bits, Thompson Elite post, Fi’z:k Gobi XM seat and a frame that just wants to go fast. A really good looking frame with a masterful suspension design, which, bucking the trend, is available in any colour so long as it’s white.

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Cannondale Rush Carbon 1 $8000 With a monocoque front triangle made with Cannondale’s HI-MOD unidirectional carbon fibre, the Rush frame is a light and serious enduro weapon. I’m yet to get to grips with Young’s Modulus, a measure of stiffness measured in E, but I’m sure this frame has heaps of it to keep its 110mm front and rear suspension travel tracking straight and true. A XTR-SLX parts mix make this a juicy option if you’re thinking of having any sort of fun, whatsoever.

Giant Anthem X LTD $6899 One of the most popular enduro/xc bikes out there and for good reason, Giant has given the Anthem 4 inches of travel for ’09 and changed the shock position from horizontal to vertical. The bike features the new copivot system making it simpler and reducing weight.

It’s not available in carbon yet but it’s still race-light, kitted out with all the fruit and guaranteed to fly off the sales room floor.

Giant Anthem XW Elite $3799 The women’s version of the Anthem gets a cheaper price tag than the men’s LTD, less expensive spec and comes in pretty colours. It offers 100mm of front wheel travel via a Fox fork with remote lockout and the same 4 inch design as the Anthem X. Designed for racing, it also looks the goods.

Giant Trance X $6299 The Trance has been a winner for Giant since its launch.

The Trance X offers 5 inches of travel in a relatively lightweight package. This shimmering beauty also comes with the super-powerful new Avid Elixir brakes and ProPedal Fox RP23 rear shock - great for those all day trail ride/ pub sessions none of us get enough of.

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Haro Mary SS $1599 A bike for those who enjoy the simple (reliable) things in life – no suspension, no gears, none of that fancy aluminium stuff, but the Mary SS does have discs and 29 inch wheels. It’s a CrMo rig with Truvativ cranks and big, fat Kenda Nevegal tyres.

Diamond Back Sortie 2 $3699 This is a 100mm travel trail bike designed for those after a reliable, sturdy package. The bike is decked out by the SRAM family with X7, Truvativ and Rock Shox keeping the Sortie on the right side of the tracks.

Ridley Ignite Team $5750 Contrary to what your mate on his new 5 inch dually might tell you, hardtails aren’t a dying breed.

And as far as hardtails go, this one is pretty flash.

It’s dominated by carbon with Truvativ Noir cranks matched to the loud carbon frame. Its light, fast and with the reliability of SRAM’s high end parts, should be a treat to ride.

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Diora Marque III $1700 Diora are a brand tapping into the beginner side of the women’s market, this is their high end model designed for bike paths and the odd foray into the dirt.

It looks cool and comes with solid spec to match with Shimano Deore and Rock Shox Tora forks. If you’re looking to ditch the old rusty steed and get something a bit more flash, the Marque III could be just your thing.

Felt SIX Pro $4299 The Felt SIX Pro has a very nice carbon frame matched to plenty of nice parts. The Pro is the second from the top and features Shimano XT with Rock Shox Reba SL forks – fast, light and stealth.

Felt Virtue 1 $3999 The Felt Virtue series made a bit of a splash on the scene a few years ago with their new design – complete with Equilink – and lightweight performance, offering very little suspension bob or kickback. The Virtue 1 is a true trail bike with 130mm of travel at the rear and a Rock Shox Revelation front fork adjustable from 100-130mm of travel. The rest of the bike is Shimano XT with a Fox RP23 rear shock – a great mix for railing the trails.

Specialized Epic S Works Carbon Disc $10499 The Epic has received a major revision for ’09. It didn’t take long to make an impact with Christoph Sauser winning the ’08 World XC Champs aboard (a very light) one.

The latest Epic still uses the Specialized Brain Technology – now called the Mini Brain – which in this case, is a good thing. The S Works Carbon Disc pictured also comes with a brain-laden front fork to match. It’s a pretty out-there bit of gear that comes at a pretty crazy price, but this isn’t just any bike.

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Specialized Enduro Comp $4999 Available in white or black, this is a 150mm travel weapon that combines descending prowess with relative climbing efficiency – although you won’t see Sauser racing on one. The rear cushioning is taken care of by a Specialized AFR rear shock while the front is Fox 32 Float RL, offering 150mm both ends.

SRAM/Avid do the shifting and braking to give you a comprehensive all mountain package.

BMC Trail Fox 01 $3975 (frame only) This is the Four Stroke’s big travel brother with 140mm of travel through an interesting all-new curved rear seat stay design. It’s an all day trail ride machine at a decent weight. The rear shock set-up was developed in conjunction with Fox to produce a super efficient climbing and descending machine. It also comes with the stiffer 15mm QR front skewer for off camber cornering confidence.

The front forks are Fox Talas adjustable from 100140mm and the rear is Fox RP2. Shimano XT does the rest with some funky looking DT Swiss wheels to round out the package.

BMC Four Stroke 01 $5750 (frame only) These carbon BMC duallies look pretty cool. This one is at the boutique end of the MTB hierarchy with XTR accompanied by Fox F100RL front fork and Fox RP2 rear shock. DT Swiss takes care of the wheels for a 100mm travel race bike.

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BMC Shiver $3995 The Shiver is the Women’s BMC trail dually with 120mm travel front and rear and a shimmering bronze frame. The parts mix is a bit more accessible than on the Four Stroke 01 with SRAM X.7, Marzoochi 44 TST2 forks and Avid Juicy 3 brakes. The 69 degree head angle and 120mm of travel positions this bike as an all day trail riding beauty.

Gary Fisher Hi Fi Carbon $7499 This is the lightest full-suspension frame in the Gary Fisher line-up. It includes the new G2 geometry for faster handling. The frame is based on carbon comoulding technology. The bike relies on Shimano XT for the drivetrain with Bontrager Rhythm Elite wheels and Fox F120 RL front forks offering 120mm of travel. All in all: a lightweight, fast, funky enduro bike.

Gary Fisher Roscoe III $6499 The Roscoe is an all-new model for ’09 capitalising on the all mountain trend. It’s made from aluminium and true to its all mountain intentions, features a 140mm travel Fox Talas fork with a 15mm front axle. It also has a new rear shock – the Fox DRCV, designed to perform like a coil shock with the lightweight advantages of an air shock. It’s an exciting new model offering the versatility of an XC trail bike with depth of travel of an all mountain bike.

Gary Fisher Superfly $6399 Hardtail 29’ers don’t come much sexier or lighter than this one. You get Bontrager X Lite 29 wheels, SRAM X.0 and Shimano XT cranks. The Fox F80 RLC front forks provide 80mm of travel up front – not a lot by today’s standards but the smooth 29’er ride takes care of the rest.

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Trek Fuel EX 8 WSD $4299 This is the women’s version of the longer travel Trek Fuel EX. It features a mix of spec with XT rear derailleur, Shimano SLX running gear and a Shimano M542 crankset. The frame gives the pilot 120mm of travel at the rear with Fox Float 130RL forks offering 130mm at the front. It’s a nice looking bike slotting nicely into that bulging trail ride market.

Trek Fuel EX 9.9 $9999 This is the flagship Fuel EX for the trail rider on a spending spree. It’s a balanced 120mm package with the new Fox RP24 – also seen on the Gary Fisher Roscoe and custom built for Fisher and Trek – taking up duties at the front. The rest of the bike is built sparing no expense, with X.O and XTR wrapped around an OCLV carbon frame.

Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL $11999 The Top Fuel has always been at the forefront of dual suspension race technology and it sure steps it up this year with an integrated seat-tube and BB90 bottom bracket running a 2X9 drivetrain.

Rock Shox SID World Cups and XTR take care of the rest – a striking bit of go-fast gear.

Kona Hei Hei $4799 This is Kona’s enduro race weapon. With that tried and true scandium aluminium 4-bar frameset, the bike gets on with the job with Mavic Crosstrail wheels and XT running gear. This beast bucks current trends for longer-is-better travel offerings, with 2.5inches at the rear and 80mm at the front through a set of Fox F80 RL front forks, highlighting the bike’s racey intentions.

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Orbea Oiz Carbon Team $9799 Orbea has been busy building bikes for the likes of Olympic Champ Julien Absalon over the least few years, developing a super-quick line of XC bikes in the process. The Oiz carbon frame comes in at under 2kg. Rear travel is a racy 85mm through a Fox RP23 rear shock while the front is taken care of with a set of Rock Shox SIDs. Those loud and light Fulcrum wheels round out a boutique race-day duallie.

Orbea Alma 29er $2699 (frame only) There aren’t too many carbon hardtail 29’ers around.

Orbea decided it was a niche worth investigating and developed this lightweight, high-spec 29’er. The Alma is wrapped in SRAM X.O with some sexy FSA K Force Carbon cranks and Rock Shox Reba front fork. If you’re looking to soak up the corrugations in the next 100k race, the Alma is a very suitable, capable machine.

Orbea Occam Team Carbon $9250 This is the bigger travel, trail ride brother to the Oiz Carbon. It offers 4.75inches of travel. While you won’t see Julien Absalon win an XC World Cup on one, the bike features some pretty tidy little details like internal cable routing on the rear swing-arm, an integrated fender in the polygonal downtube and a reinforced head tube. Spec mix is high-end trail with SRAM X.O, Truvativ Noir carbon cranks and Mavic CrossMax SLR wheels. Trail riding the Occam way looks like a whole lot of fun!

Iron Horse Bootleg 3.0 $4199 While Iron Horse are better known for their downhill specific machines, the Bootleg 3.0 is the company’s new enduro/trail bike. It looks the goods and comes with ride quality to match thanks to a simple, sturdy 4inch singlepivot system based around an aluminium frame. Drivetrain is SRAM X.9 with Rock Shox Reba Race front fork and Rock Shox Monarch rear. If you’re after something a little different that’s guaranteed to turn a few heads at the next enduro, check out the Bootleg 3.0.

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Rocky Mountain Altitude 70 $TBA The Altitude 70 is a 140mm travel all mountain bike. It features the new super-stiff 15mm front axle mated to Fox 32 RL front forks. The frame uses the Rocky Mountain Straight Up technology utilising a 76 degree seat angle so you can get the weight where you want it – over the pedals. XT and XTR round out a solid all day trail bike.

Scott Spark 10 $8999 This bike is named after the bright spark down in R&D who was able to put together a full-suspension XC weapon inclusive of rear shock at less than 1800 grams. If you want to give yourself a fighting chance of winning XC races on rough tracks then the 2009 Spark is your carbon-clad tool. With 110mm out the back at 120mm up front in the Fox 32 F120RLs, you are not going hucking, you are going racing…fast.

Merida Ninety-Six Carbon 5000-D $11499 Merida is not what you’d call a conventional brand and the Ninety-Six is in line with this approach to XC racing bikes. For 2009 they’ve taken the shock off the rear stays and brought it forward, set it amongst an exquisite frame, slapped on some loud decals and delivered speed on tap. And while GunnRita Dahle Flesja has a baby, I’m sure she won’t mind if you use her Ninety-Six.

Kona Lisa 120 $2450 The trail bike for women, the Lisa 120 offers 5inches of travel at the rear, again through the Kona 4-bar linkage. The bike includes an accessible spec mix with Rock Shox Dart 2 front suspension and Shimano Deore/SLX running gear. In the Pearl White it looks innocent, but the Lisa packs plenty of fast-descending punch.

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Eccles and Kath rail one of the many berms at Stromlo Forest Park, Canberra.

Photo: Damian Breach

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test ride

Giant Cypher Words by Claire Whiteman | Photos: damian breach

The Giant Cypher is a women’s specific trail bike designed for riding rather than racing. The bike is aimed at those who enjoy trail rides, maybe the odd 24hr race and want a comfortable yet fun bike that can handle a wide variety of terrain with ease.

The Bike

The Ride

The Giant Trance has been kicking goals for Giant for a number of years now as an affordable, responsive trail bike. The Cypher is the women’s version. In line with its broad trail ride focus, the Cypher is built around affordability and versatility. The aluminium frame uses Giant’s Maestro rear suspension system to give 5 inches of rear wheel travel. The Maestro technology revolves around four strategically-placed pivot points that are designed to minimise the negatives of pedal input and braking forces. This creates a fully active system, allowing the wheel to track the trail over rough surfaces for increased traction. The Trance uses the co-pivot technology also found on the latest Anthem X. This system uses a single shaft for the lower linkage and lower shock mount for a simpler design and reduced weight.

Compared to the similarly-priced men’s Giant Trance X3, the Cypher has a 10mm shorter top-tube and 8mm shorter wheelbase, coupled with a 5mm longer head-tube. The bike has a 69.5 degree head angle, compared to the Anthem Women’s 71 degree angle. This is a clear indication that the bike is intended to be a trail-riding specialist. It’s also refreshing to see a slack head-tube on a women’s trail bike as other women’s models I’ve tested shorten the head-tube and give it a steeper angle, making the bike twitchy and unstable.

The Cypher comes with great spec for the price with Fox 32 F120 R front forks matched to a Fox Float R ProPedal rear shock.

The drivetrain features Shimano SLX and Deore with Shimano M486 hydraulic discs. Race Face take care of the stem, bar and seatpost and the seat is a WTB women’s specific model – short and broad. It’s a solid, comprehensive spec mix.

This bike really inspires confidence on the trails. You notice the shorter top-tube and longer head-tube immediately, with the Cypher sitting you fairly upright with an easy reach to the handlebars. The design of the bike also offers great stand-over clearance. The 69.5 degree head angle coupled with the 120mm fork creates a really stable ride. I was expecting this bike to be a fairly competent descender and it didn’t let me down. It felt like a light, mini DH bike. It was stable and secure over little drops and really fantastic fun in berms with the rear wheel tracking really well over the rough stuff. The addition of the 15mm front axle also helped sturdy the front end. It’s a pretty cool little system, with no tools required to remove the wheel. The oversize bar and stem also contributed to the stable and stiff feel and promoted descending ability.

On the climbs the bike didn’t bob around too much. Obviously there are lighter bikes out there that would be faster up the hills but the Maestro suspension and Fox ProPedal did a good job to minimise bob. In and out of the saddle the bike was responsive enough that I could still enjoy most climbing sections. Be sure to take the time to set the front and rear suspension to your body weight though, this has a crucial effect on how the bike both climbs and descends.

I didn’t have any problems with the bike over the test period, it all worked well with no suspension play, noises or undue flex. The Kenda Nevegal tyres were a chunky addition, great for traction but a bit slow on smoother, open sections. They could be replaced with something slightly more fast-rolling if you’re riding more fire roads than technical descents.

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Frame ALUXX SL FluidFormed Fork Fox 32 F120 R Rear Shock Fox Float R Derailleurs Shimano SLX shadow (R)/Shimano Deore (F) Shifters Shimano Deore Hubs Shimano M475 disc (R)/Giant Tracker 15mm (F) Rims Mavic XM117 disc Tyres Kenda Nevegal 26x2.1 Brakes Shimano M486 hydraulic Crankset Shimano Deore Handlebar Raceface Ride XC Stem Raceface Ride XC Seat & post WTB Deva women’s/Raceface Ride XC RRP $2499

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The Verdict I guess if I had to sum up my experiences with the Cypher I’d say it’s fun. It’s not designed for hard-core XC racing – for those after a bit more of a speedy edge, Giant offer a women’s version of the Anthem shorter travel cross country bike. This bike is all about riding and enjoying the trails. It’s perfect for offering the comfort of plenty of suspension and relaxed, stable geometry for the descents but that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to push the bike back up the hills to experience it. It’d be great on an all day epic ride but just as at home in a team enduro event. This bike would be perfect for women who are learning to mountain bike (so long as you don’t baulk at the price). It’s very stable, competent, not twitchy and very comfortable and forgiving over the rough stuff. All in all, a fun bike.

Kath Bicknell puts the Cypher through its paces under a setting sun at Mt Stromlo

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test ride

Pivot Mach 5 Words by Hamish Armstrong | Photo: Sportograf

Pivot Cycles are a new brand on the Aussie scene, featuring a bunch of dual suspension models for cross country and endurance racing. The company’s credibility is helped significantly by the reputation of its founder Chris Cocalis. Chris began tinkering with bikes in the 1980s and formed Titus Cycles in 1991. Pivot Cycles was established in 1997. The bikes also feature the DW-Link suspension design from Dave Weagle, seen, ridden and rated previously by our Enduro test crew on the Iron Horse in Issue 9. So while the company may be new to Australia, the brand has some formidable experience behind it.

We recently had the pleasure of testing the Mach 5 which, according to owner Cocalis, is aimed squarely at the 24hr racing and all day trail ride market – we were itching to get it dusty.

The Bike The Mach 5 features a few pieces of interesting technology. The bike comes with a zero stack headset. This system takes normal bearing cups – like an external 1&1/8” headset – but the entire headset cups fit inside the frame. This is designed to offer the benefits of an external system, in that it is separate to the frame, while offering reduced height in the front end. This is particularly beneficial to shorter riders as suspension forks continue to gain in travel and ride height. Also, the larger head tube provides a bigger platform to weld to, and allows increased strength and stiffness.

In accordance with the oversize theme, the bottom bracket shell is fat enough to house a 92mm BB. The system uses internal Shimano XTR bearings for easy crank installation – no spacers required. This creates a fatter, stiffer frame at the point where the rider puts the power down and allows for a larger lower down tube.

The rear suspension features the much-hyped DW-link design.

The rear suspension is designed to eliminate pedal-induced bob during hard pedalling while also providing additional traction, tracking with irregular terrain on the climbs. The system has a rearward arc initially and moves to a vertical path so as to remain active for the entire length of its travel.

The Mach 5 we tested ran a pretty sweet spec list. The drivetrain was taken care of with Shimano XTR while Fox took care of the sus-

pension with Talas RLC 140mm front forks and an RP23 rear shock.

The bike was rolling on the new Jetblack Rocket wheels and Syntace took care of the bars, stem and seat post with a WTB Rocket V seat.

The Ride This bike is a blast. I headed out for a lap of my favourite XC loop and was immediately impressed by the bike’s climbing ability considering it had over 5 inches of travel on offer. Plenty of bike companies claim a lack of bob but still feel a bit like an old soft mattress on the climbs, not so in the case of the Mach 5. It felt fast and responsive under hard pedal input and the whole bike felt light and was easily thrown around – not like a big travel duallie at all. Seated climbing over rough stuff also worked a treat. I was excited.

With a 69 degree head angle and a 140mm fork, the front end felt quite relaxed. As expected, this made it a bit slower to react in flat tight sections compared to a shorter travel rig but it translated to stability and fun on the descents. I felt really confident on the Mach 5 when the trail pointed down, happy to let the brakes go for as long as possible The bike almost felt like a fully blown DH rig, soaking up bumps and rocks with confidence. Fast, open corners were super fun on this bike, allowing you to get some controlled drifts happening without too much trouble.

The frame proved durable and reliable during the test period with no bearing play or suspension noise. Some of the spec let the

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The Mach 5 got put through its paces at the recent Scott 24hr

Frame Mach 5 Aluminium Fork Fox 32 TALAS RLC Derailleurs Shimano XTR Direct Mount Shifters Shimano XTR Rims JetBlack Rocket Wheels Tyres Kenda Nevegal 2.3 Brakes Magura Marta SL Crankset Shimano XTR Handlebar Syntace Carbon Stem Syntace F119 Seat & post Syntace Carbon, WTB Rocket V RRP Approx: $9500 (Demo model)

bike down though. The Magura brakes looked the part, with their red anodised body and carbon lever, but their performance wasn’t great, they lacked in feel and power. Also, the Kenda Nevegal tyres are a great tyre, with an aggressive tread design, but I always feel that they don’t offer a soft enough compound. The stiff knobs mean that the tyres start to slide, instead of biting in, when you really need the grip. On the flipside, it means they offer great durability. The Syntace bars too, looked great and were lightweight but they had way too much sweep and felt terrible – a problem easily fixed. If this bike was

mine I’d throw some Juicy Ultimates on and replace the bars with something offering a one inch rise and more conventional sweep and I’d be happy. The rest of the spec worked a treat.

The verdict New bike designs are exciting, the Pivot Mach 5 provides a really convincing package as a 24hr or all day trail bike. If you can afford it, it’s super comfortable and makes descending an absolute blast.

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Commencal Super 4.2 Words by Nic Eccles | Photos: Damian Breach

The Commençal Super 4 is a striking-looking bike. In fact, it’s one of the best looking bikes I’ve seen in a while and judging by its popularity on the trails, plenty of people agree with me. Commençal is a French company with a big presence in the Euro race scene and plenty of credibility behind them. Despite this, they don’t have a strong representation in the Aussie XC/Enduro scene. We grabbed their latest 4 inch bike to see how it stacked up.

The Bike

The Ride

The Super 4 is an all-new model for ’09. It’s designed as a lightweight trail bike for the weekend warrior or 24hr team rider. The bike features the Commençal Contact System which is designed to maximise grip and minimise pedal-induced ‘bob’. As well as focusing on small bump sensitivity, time has been taken to offer smooth big hit absorption without bottom-out.

The location of the main pivot that connects the front triangle to the rear triangle is crucial in establishing the balance of the bike.

The Super 4 is designed in such a way as to allow for relatively even weighting between the front and rear. The position of the main pivot allows for a less active suspension system – and reduced bob – in the small and middle rings, and greater suspension action in the big ring when descending and taking in bigger hits. Commençal worked in conjunction with Fox to establish the pedal platform and ride quality of the Super 4.

The Super 4.2 sits in the middle of the Super 4 range, offering a quality spec mix without going too boutique. Plenty of component manufacturers have been called on to get the Super 4 rolling off the factory floor. The bike features Rock Shox Reba SL 100mm forks and Fox RP2 rear shock. The rest of the bike is a mix of parts: SRAM X.7 shifters, X.9 rear derailleur and Shimano Deore front mech with Truvativ Firex cranks, Formula Oro brakes, Mavic rims and Commencal branded hubs. It doesn’t stop there though; the stem is Race Face, the bars Commençal branded and the seat and post SDG I-Beam.

Finally, the bike comes with Maxxis Larsen TT tyres. Phheww…time for a ride!

This bike offers an interesting ride. At 69.5 degrees the head angle is on the relaxed side for a cross-country bike, making it feel more trail bike than race bike. On the flipside, the top tube is longer than what I’m used to which countered the relaxed steerer on the trail giving it a nice mix and making it feel well-weighted and stable.

On the climbs, this bike changed character dramatically depending on suspension pressure. Slightly under pressure, the bike felt a bit “mushy” on the climbs, add 20psi to the rear end and the bike felt super-stiff and responsive. This gives the Super 4 great versatility; if you know you’re heading out for an epic day on the fire-roads with plenty of climbing you can bump up the pressure for a firm, smooth ride. Drop a bit of pressure for a soft but comfortable singletrack machine.

With its slacker head angle, this bike is a really competent descender. It felt super stable and secure in the rough stuff and wasn’t easily upset over rock drops. In loose, fast corners it was easy to maintain good weight on the front wheel and keep the bike tracking in the right direction. The Super 4.2 felt right at home digging into berms – where the suspension squatted nicely – and soaking up the nasty stuff on fast descents.

This is clearly a well-engineered and developed bike. Its nature is that of a super-comfortable all day bike. It’s not the sort of bike you’d smash up the fire road on with max heart rate, the geometry and ride characteristics aren’t designed for that. The slackened geometry isn’t super fast in tight sections either but open fast stuff is where you really start to smile more than you would on a steepangled race bike.

Track-side smiles aside, the rear bushing developed some play

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Frame NEW SUPER 4 100mm Fork Rock Shox Reba SL 100 Rear Shock Fox RP2 Derailleurs SRAM X9 (R)/ Shimano Deore (F) Shifters SRAM X7 Hubs Commençal sealed (F)/Shimano XT (R) Rims Mavic X317 disc Tyres Maxxis Larsen TT 26x2.0 Brakes Formula Oro 18k Crankset Truvativ Firex 3.3 Giga X pipe Handlebar Commençal 1” rise oversize Stem Race Face Evolve XC Seat & post SDG I Fly/SDG I Beam RRP $4500

Eccles looking serious

and had to be tightened early on in our test. It was quickly fixed though and we didn’t have any problems after that initial adjustment.

Also, the rear brake developed a terrible noise when I got some dust in the rear calliper. This is a problem that I’ve experienced before with Formula brakes, after a good clean it was running quietly again.

Finally, the Truvativ Firex cranks are a cheap option and do tend to let down the quality feel of the bike, I’d swap them for something juicier if this bike was mine.

The Verdict This is a great rig. Thorough engineering and design isn’t something that you can read about in the spec sheet and isn’t something that’s easily explained, but the Commençal has it. The Super 4.2 offers something different and unique in a crowded market. The test bike had a few small glitches but I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the Super 4 to someone who likes ‘the ride’ more than ‘the race’ and wants a shiny piece of machinery to help them experience it.

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Deuter Hydro EXP 12

$169.95

Words by James Williamson

To be honest: I hate backpacks – especially when I’m riding. They jump up and smash against the back of your head on descents, they swim around on your back when you’re cornering, they give you instant back-sweat and their countless buckles and straps get caught up in everything.

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Mavic C29ssmax Disc Tubeless Wheelset

$1599

Words by Peter Hatton

o you can imagine my excitement when I picked up this Deuter Hydro EXP earlier in the year. It looked innocent enough, almost stylish in its subtle blacks, but I was already thinking up reasons to hate it.

The day came and we went riding together – the pack and I that is. It was a pretty techo ride with plenty of steep, rocky descents, the environment that packs are normally at their worst. We finished the ride about 5 hours later and my mate asked “How was the pack?” I almost did a doubletake – I hadn’t even noticed the thing all day! I’d dug into it plenty of times for food and cameras but whilst riding I hadn’t even noticed it. This was a breakthrough.

Having not noticed it the first ride, I made a conscious effort to notice it on following rides but it was an effort. So after almost a year, it’s one of my favourite pieces of gear – on and off the bike.

There’s plenty that makes this pack good. It’s not too big so you can’t overload it. It comes with an unzippable extra storage section, enlarging the pack if need be.

The buckles adjusting the length of the shoulder straps are quality – a big plus in my books – meaning you can adjust them as much as you like and make minute adjustments on the trail to keep the load even.

The harness system is awesome. The straps are vented and breathable and it comes with a chest and waists strap – also with quality buckles – so you can have it hug you as hard as you like. The waist strap also comes with zippered, netted pockets. Moving on, the back section is well ventilated via a central air channel section. It works well and it’s comfortable but I was still getting plenty of back sweat – that’s pretty much inevitable, I’ve decided.

The Deuter has 3 main storage sections. The first large open section comes complete with a slip to the side for your pump and a netted front zippered section

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rough comparison on the bathroom scales saw these wheels come in at around 1800g – about 350g a pair lighter than the DT Onix wheels spec’d on our Orbea Lanza 29er test bike. This is a fair weight difference especially considering that it’s mostly rotating mass. As a ballpark figure, this also puts them about 200g heavier than the 26’er CrossMax wheelset. The second point to note about these wheels prior to riding them is that they look cool. They stand out – everyone recognises a pair of Mavic CrossMax wheels when they see them. Mavic have done well with the distinctive black stealth colour and the fat bladed spokes, setting them apart from the crowd.

to separate valuables from squishy bananas.

The second section has another small zippered section and a sectioned compartment. The final front section has a buckle to hold your keys and is perfect for a handheld camera.

The pack also comes with an elasticised helmet holder that you unzip from the front and a rain cover that you unzip from the bottom. Each side of the pack has a bottle holder that fits a 600ml coke-style bottle, or 750ml bike bottle, perfectly. I’m not a big fan of water bladders, but the Deuter comes with a 3 litre one that’s easily removable if it’s not your thing.

I use this pack everywhere, on the bike and off. My only complaint is that the bag isn’t quite wide enough for my laptop, although my ‘portable’ computer is an oldschool 15 inch brick, the more tech savvy probably won’t suffer this. Also, the zip away extra storage section is great if you can’t fit everything, but when at maximum capacity it does make the pack a bit cumbersome.

For this reason I steer clear of unzipping it.

Finally, the multitude of waist buckles and chest straps are great, but they can flap around and get bit annoying if you choose not to use them, which is usually off the bike. Also, I guess it’s a bit pricey, but not compared to packs of similar quality and for what you get on this pack, the price is worth it.

The thing I like about this pack is that the company have spent time to produce a product that’s great to use. Everything is good quality – the fabric is light but strong, the buckles offer great adjustment and the zippers are durable and slide well. In fact, after nearly a year I’m still as happy with the pack as I would be if it were brand new. There are two points there: Firstly I’m saying that I’m actually happy with a pack, secondly I’m saying I’m happy with something that isn’t spankin new. It’s been a learning experience.

The first thing I noticed about these babies rolling out the driveway and down my street was they were definitely a lot smoother and faster-rolling than the Orbea OEM wheels. This was due to the fast rolling CrossMark tread pattern and also the tubeless system itself. The second thing I noticed by about the third corner and well before I’d hit the dirt, was the flex. A flick of the bars each way to induce some wobbles at the front wheel confirmed it; there was enough distortion there to be obviously visible. As a result, I would describe these wheels as soft. This is obviously the tradeoff for producing a relatively lightweight 29inch wheel; a larger diameter wheel will inevitably flex more. The question is whether this is a bad thing?

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Hitting the dirt the wheels performed admirably. The speedy CrossMarks were most welcome on all but the rockiest trails, whether climbing or descending. It was hard to tell if acceleration was much-improved due to the weight savings and to be honest the advantages in this area may have been evened out by some loss in energy through flex. Steady climbing felt smooth and efficient.

The flex was most noticeable for me in the front wheel under braking while entering a corner usually on a descent. In these

situations I didn’t like the feel of the wheels – given some more time to get used to it this may not be such a problem. The rest of the time the flex wasn’t an issue. It can even be a benefit, offering a softer ride through the rough stuff and allowing a degree of forgiveness in the corners.

Another thing to consider with these wheels is maintenance. They require a special spoke key and special spokes (remember, you won’t be borrowing spare spokes off fellow 26 inch CrossMax wheel users). Be sure to pack spares with you on weekends away or

Hikenbiker Merino

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you may find yourself sitting in the car when you should be riding.

In summary, I’d say these wheels are smooth and efficient. It comes down to personal preference more than anything: if you like the feel of a stiffer (possibly harsher), more direct drive then these wheels may not be for you. But from my observations, riding 29’ers isn’t generally about racing, it’s more about fun, smooth trail rides and the Mavics fulfil these criteria convincingly. If you like a softer more forgiving ride that’s still pretty fast, then consider the CrossMax.

Long sleeve: $65

Short sleeve: $55

Words by Kath Bicknell and James Williamson | photo: damian breach

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If merino was a colour, it would be the new black.

Outdoor enthusiasts have been on the program for ages but with brands like Kathmandu and Icebreaker seriously promoting their wares, more and more people are making the switch.

Merino is one of those magic fibres that keeps you cool in the sun and warm in the cold and wet.

It dries in a hurry and still smells clean after a week (or a month) of regular use.

And it’s natural and renewable so it keeps the hippies happy too.

nter Hikenbiker.

Hikenbiker is a company based in Sydney with more than 20 years of experience designing sports gear. These guys are big fans of merino. In launching their products they’ve decided to steer clear of the rugged outdoor look favoured by other companies and have started their own line of wool – urban cool style. The fit of their clothing means it still performs well on the hillside (or the bike, skis or kayak), but the colours and styles also look the part at the pub, out dancing and, in the case of the stylin’ long sleeve numbers, at the office and nice restaurants too.

Due to the moisture wicking, wind resisting properties of merino, these garments are a great choice for the bike. A short or long sleeve merino is functional in a range of conditions and keeps you comfortable if you don’t want to pack a change of clothes for your arrival destination. We tested the clothing in both men’s and women’s.

The ‘Carrie’ long sleeve women’s top is great on its own, and adds some well received heat to a winter jersey on a colder day. It rolls up to be quite small if fitting it in your bag is an issue. The only downside that we could find was that the slightly flared wrists (which make it look great off the trails) meant that if you pulled the sleeves up to your elbows they didn’t stay there on long sections of bumpy single track.

We also tested the ‘Extrovert’ men’s long sleeve. It felt comfortable on the skin but, as with the women’s version, lacks strong elasticised cuffs. It offers a relaxed fit though and the loose cuffs give it street cred and

style. We found it the perfect choice for between laps at a 24hr race – it’s suitably warm and the light fabric is super comfortable for cruising the pits. These long sleeve tops are subtle and stylish, this makes them really versatile – you can kick around in them at a mountain bike race, you can even ride in them, but they’re just as suitable for wandering the streets. This is a big attraction of the Hikenbiker gear.

The pocketless nature of the short sleeve “Juliet” women’s t-shirt means it’s one that we’d pair up with a hydration pack or wear under a jersey for extra warmth.

Like the Carrie, it wicks moisture well, doesn’t hold on to dirt or bad smells and seems to know when you want to keep cool or would rather stay warm. It felt a bit scratchy at the end of a long day under a heavy backpack, but expect this to go after a few wears and washes. The same can be said of the men’s version – the Twin Peaks.

It is super comfortable, stretching nicely to your body but doesn’t feel restrictive and tight like synthetic thermals. Its smaller size makes it great option for an under-shirt in the colder months, or a cosy, relaxed shirt.

The ‘Snippet’ beanies also demonstrate Hikenbiker’s on and off bike approach to design and fit easily under a helmet adding significant warmth on a chilly morning. They look bright and cheerful wandering around town or hunting down a café ready to fuel up for the next big ride. They’re small and light so they fit easily in your pocket if you’re getting too toasty and at $15 they’re great value.

Hinkenbiker have developed a good range of men’s and women’s clothing and they have plans for a complete range of woollen attire including longs and underpants. They’re comfortable, stylish and affordable, making them a very attractive proposition. More information on Hikenbiker can be found at www.hikenbiker.com

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Oval Concepts bar and stem T800 Carbon Riser Bar: $279.00 (185g) M800 MTB RBT Stem: $245.00 (110g) Words by Joel McFarlane-Roberts

Oval Concepts is based in the Swiss Alps and has a great reputation in the European racing scene, best known for their road and time-trial bars and stems. Making light stuff for roadies is all well and good, but can they put their skills to good use in the mountain bike market? Enduro tested their bar and stem to find out.

test ride

Fox clothing Flow Jersey: $79.00 EFX Jersey: $69.00 Attack Shorts: $179.95 Words by Hamish Armstrong

We tested some stylish Fox kit recently, designed as versatile, relaxed fit riding gear for trail riding and cruising the local trails, beer garden or café.

Stem: The most obvious difference between this and other mountain bike stems is the reverse bolt arrangement, called Reverse Bolt Technology (RBT). The four bolt removable faceplate is threaded with blind holes rather than the stem itself, meaning the bolts are inserted from behind. Functionally, this seems to make little difference, however it allows the bolts to engage a bit more thread than they would if arranged in the traditional manner and also means that the force of the bolt head isn’t on the relatively fragile stem face-plate. For those gear-heads who are constantly switching bits around, this means less chance of wearing out the thread and if you do, you can simply replace the face-plate rather than the whole stem.

On the trail the stem is pretty stiff, more so than the one it replaced (and probably many others it could equally replace!). When used together with the greater leverage of a wider bar, this means more energy going where it’s supposed to. All in all it’s a solid stem that looks sweet.

Bar: These are a well thought out set of bars.

They’re wide! 680mm is a pretty generous swerve for a cross-country bar. The bar is marked with graduations for accurate cutting and the ends are reinforced for bar-end use. Importantly too, and no doubt adding to the price, these bars come with a Kevlar liner which gives the bars structural reinforcement and means they won’t shatter – a comforting fact. The central clamp area is also textured for better grip from the stem with lower bolt torque. With 1 inch-or-so of rise, it’s comfortable and the sweep more wrist-friendly than most racing bars. The stiffness complements that of the stem.

When used together with the stem it was a very confidence inspiring package. The set would work well on a trail bike, saving weight over the over-built offerings which come standard on many bikes these days.

Flow Jersey: The Flow Jersey offers a simple, subtle design with dark grey sleeves and a light grey centre section. It looks good without being over the top which works well. The jersey features a sewn-in mesh undershirt for sweat wicking and a bit of extra warmth in the wind.

The shirt fitted well, with a slight drop section at the back to stop it riding up your back as you pedal, particularly handy when you’re wearing a back pack. The combination of a mesh insert and a short sleeve worked well, I find if I wear a long sleeve on the cool days I tend to get too hot mid-ride. On the downside, while the outer jersey stayed low, the mesh undershirt did have a tendency to ride up my back, forcing me to stop and pull it down, which did get a bit annoying at times.

The shirt also has two handy zipped pockets to hold some gu’s, money or other stuff you really don’t want to lose during a ride. The whole shirt was also very well made with strong seams. Throughout the test no threads came loose and the shirt proved pretty tough when snagged on trees or rocks. Overall the shirt gave good ventilation, held up really well and looks the goods.

EFX Jersey: The EFX Jersey has loud ‘tribal’ graphics polarising opinion on the trails – some people love it, others hate it. Either way, the jersey makes an impact. This is a loose-fit airy and light jersey designed for summer riding. It features a zipper down the front, a zipped pocket at the back and a sunglass wipe on the right hip – clever. If you like your jerseys relatively loose, it offers a decent fit and the light fabric is great for the hot days.

Briefly: These products aren’t race-light but are really well engineered and manufactured and importantly, they look great!

photo: damian breach

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Attack Shorts: The Attack Shorts have an inner Lycra lining for comfort on the trail with the relaxed outer styling of a rugged pair of shorts – good for those who like the feel but not the look. The shorts have plenty of branding with big Fox logos on each leg and some cool little pictures of cranks, chains and derailers etc on the inside – a great little touch. The shorts also feature a strong drawstring closure system for adjustable waist and good fit. Big mesh sections down the sides of the shorts give a bit of added ventilation.

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They’re a comfortable, baggy fit and include the normal side short pockets with added small zip pockets on the legs.

They’re a good looking set of shorts.

The knick insert provides a bit of added comfort on longer rides. The mesh side inserts were also great for ventilation and the shorts gave plenty of pocket space. As with the jersey, I didn’t have any problems with loose seams, the shorts held up really well to repeated crashes and rock-scrapings. Overall these are a great set of shorts – they’re comfortable, have plenty of space, and look sweet.

photo: adam macleod

Fulcrum Red Metal Zero

approx $2500

Fulcrum was created in 2006 by two bicycle-mad aeronautical engineers who wanted to build the strongest, stiffest and fastest wheels on the market. Building both road and mountain bike wheels, they’ve made quite an impact in a small space of time.

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uring my time as a cyclist I have enjoyed riding a wide array of the finest cycling components, including some of the lightest and brightest parts around. It’s great trialing all the new gear but it also makes you a bit wary of the reality of product performance when it is separated from the advertising hype. When I was handed a pair of the Fulcrum Red Metal Zeros I was, as per usual, skeptical of the hype that surrounds these wheels. They looked pretty but I didn’t think wheel technology could have gotten any better than it already was.

Out of the box these wheels certainly have the weight – or lack thereof – on their side; at1420 grams for the set they are almost 100 grams lighter than the Mavic CrossMax SLR. The wheels are also notable for their 2:1 spoke ratio, doubling the spokes on the drive side of the wheel for superior stiffness and power transfer through the wheel. Another notable feature is the wheel’s 20 mm oversized front axle. This system increases torsional

stiffness and strength.

The aerodynamic, flat blade spokes also point to great attention to detail, although not necessary for a mountain bike wheelset, they’re a nice touch. Lastly, Fulcrum uses a Campagnolo road freewheel hub. Anybody familiar with these hubs will either think they make the sexiest noise known to mankind, or the most annoying.

Personally I love the sound.

The biggest problem with fulcrum wheels in Australia is their rarity. The spokes are Fulcrum-specific and expensive to replace. It hasn’t been an issue for me with these wheels but it is something to consider, at least if it means taking a few spares on race day. After a whole season training and racing on these bad boys I am still yet to buckle, bend, break or slow these wheels down. It seems they are always up for a ride. If your wallet can spare the change, I thoroughly recommend these wheels as a high quality, great performing wheelset.

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Verofit Verofit Isotonic Drink: $27 Verofit Regeneration Drink: $16 Meal Replacement Bar: $4.50 Energy Gel 2 + 1: $3.20 Words by the Enduro Test Crew

Verofit began in Switzerland in the 1980s, developed in conjunction with the University of Zurich. We tested a few products in the range to see how they stack up.

Verofit Isotonic Drink Available in three favours – Lemon-Lime, Ice Tea and Tropical Flavours, the Verofit Isotonic Drink is designed to re-hydrate the body with carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals for increased performance. The drink is formulated for optimal absorption and digestion. Verofit recommend it as a drink that can be taken pre, during and post race, we tested it mainly during exercise.

We found the flavours to offer variety; we particularly liked the subtle taste of the Ice Tea flavour. When mixed to specification, we found the drinks a bit strong and typically used them at 2/3rds of the recommended water-powder ratio. When mixed at its specified ratio the drink is an isotonic beverage, meaning that the water to sugar (and other nutrients) ratio is similar to that of the human body. When mixed at a weaker strength, it becomes a hypotonic beverage – one that contains a great proportion of water and less proportion of sugar to the human body. If you experiment with the product you’ll soon find what works for you but generally speaking you should mix the fluid to a weaker strength (hypotonic) on really hot days, when greater fluid intake is required. A 660g container of Verofit makes between 11 and 16.5 litres of sports drink depending on your chosen strength. The small scoop is great for getting the powder in those narrow-necked bike bottles, rather than all over them.

Over some tough cross country and 100k races, we found the Verofit Isotonic drink performed well. It certainly helped to replenish muscles to avoid exhaustion and cramping. The flavours are also uniquely subtle, if you find the sports drink you use to be too artificial and sugary tasting, the Verofit Isotonic is a great alternative.

Verofit Regeneration Drink While Verofit also recommends the Isotonic drink for recovery, this is the brand’s dedi-

cated recovery drink with a higher level of protein for muscle-repair. The drink has a ratio of carbohydrates to protein of 3:1 for accelerated recovery of depleted glycogen stores. It’s recommended that the drink be consumed within two hours of completing exercise for optimal recovery. The drink comes in individual packages – each serving contains approximately 14g of protein to 47g of carbohydrates.

The drink can be mixed with either milk or water. Being milkshake lovers from way back, we went for the milk option at first.

While not quite as tasty as a chocolate milkshake, these are pretty easy to drink and they fill you up. Both the Vanilla and Chocolate flavours taste good but our pick was the chocolate.

There is no doubt that feeding your muscles with liquid carbs and protein postrace gets you feeling better quicker and this drink is a great way to get your fix. In individual packets, you can easily pack it in the race bag and throw the powder in a bottle post-race, shake it up and smash it down.

We did just that after a few tough races and found that it had a stronger flavour without milk and tasted great – although cold milk is still more appetising than carwarmed water! It can often be hard to track down a good source of protein drink in the middle of the bush following a tough training ride or race, the Regeneration Drink is a tasty, convenient option Meal Replacement Bar. Usually companies have a signature flavour and texture that they carry through their entire range of bars; flavours may vary but the basic texture is the same. Not so for Verofit with its Cappuccino, Berries and Chocolate Meal Replacement Bars. The bars are full of vitamins, minerals, protein and carbohydrate. The Chocolate version is artificial in taste and texture, it tastes ok but has a typically energy bar texture. The

Cappuccino is completely different with a crunchy section and tasty coating. It’s a real winner, and tastes great. The only downfall is that the outer layer can melt pretty quickly on the hotter days. The Berry version is better again and our pick of the three.

It is really natural tasting with a great texture. The bars aren’t particularly packed with energy and should be mixed with other foods if you’re doing an epic trail ride or 100k race. As added variety and a means to get some essential vitamins and minerals into you, we’d recommend the Cappucino and Berry flavours.

Energy Gel 2 + 1 These energy gels come in a neutral flavour for those who aren’t into the sweet tasting energy gels. The 2 + 1 refers to the 2:1 ratio of maltodextrine to fructose, designed to increase performance. The gels contain a mixture of carbohydrate for energy and sodium to avoid salt deficiency over the long races. The gels also contain 52mg of caffeine (about half a strong coffee) per shot.

The neutral flavour of these gels takes a bit of getting used to. If you can’t stand the flavours on offer from other brands though, these could be just for you. The gels offer a great kick with the caffeine and also help in providing a few more carbs to get you up the next few hills. Plenty of riders out there may use over 4 gels in a 100k race, in this situation we wouldn’t recommend relying solely on these gels as it would be too much caffeine for your system. Used in conjunction with other energy sources, these gels are great, particularly towards the end of a big day in the saddle, or the last 10k of a 100k race. The neutral flavour offers a change from the other energy gels on offer and the caffeine shot is a great pick-meup when used appropriately. If the neutral flavour is your thing, the gels offer good energy content.

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The dedicated cross trainer…Jeremy Ross mixes water sports and mountain biking at the ’07 Highland Fling | Photo: Dave Bateman

Cross Training for MTB Words by Jeremy Ross

Mountain Biking is a fantastic sport. No matter if you are a casual weekend mountain biker or an elite Aussie representative, mountain biking requires endurance, balance, power, as well as skill and agility to negotiate the singletrack we all enjoy.

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ost towns - and even many cities - throughout Australia have plenty of singletrack and fire trails to blast around on and there are many groups of like-minded people who at various times of the day (and night) meet for a ride.

Nowadays, there are also many mountain bike events that all of us can enter and test ourselves against friends, work colleagues, and even the pros. Races such as the Scott and Mont 24 hr races and the many other endurance events across Australia have become regular pilgrimages for thousands of keen mountain bikers. In fact, some events have become so popular that entries fill up quickly and waiting lists grow into the hundreds.

Most mountain bikers are happy just to be part of the positive vibe that surrounds these events; but many riders also enjoy the challenge of improving their times, skill and fitness from year to year. However, aside from the very few mountain bikers who have the privilege to ride full-time, the rest of us have to balance family, work and life commitments around riding. Additionally, the quest to improve burns more fiercely in the heart yet becomes more difficult the fitter and faster you become. To improve, most of us will adjust the frequency, intensity and the duration of our rides whether it is on the road or dirt. There are other options though; one of the best and most time efficient is cross training. Cross training is a timeefficient and excellent way to maintain and even increase over-all general fitness, and it may also help to reduce staleness (mental fatigue) many experience during heavy training periods.

Cross training is not a new concept.

Sportsmen and women in different sports (i.e. snow skiers) have cross trained for decades, mainly due to practicality reasons

but also to complement their fitness in order to improve their performance. More recently, some of Australia’s most successful sportsmen and women have included cross training in their programs, even during the final stages of Olympic preparation - with great success. James Tomkins, arguably Australian’s greatest rower and one of our most successful sportsmen, regularly cross trains by riding, running, and surfing. It has not only helped him become a great sportsman, but has helped him remain fit, fast and fresh.

By cross-training, you can exercise muscles that are used less whilst cycling, such as the upper body – muscles that are vital to efficient cycling. Strengthening the upper body, and in particular the lower back, will increase your overall fitness and help general body comfort for long, strenuous mountain bike events. Finally, cross training is a very time efficient way to squeeze a training session into our busy lives. Some of us cannot spare three hours for a ride, and may only have 30 minutes at lunch to train. A ride may be impractical, but a 20 minute run is a fantastic way to maintain fitness, clear the head, and vary your training.

Just as importantly, cross training can alleviate staleness that can creep into high volume training programs. Although mountain biking is an exhilarating and challenging sport, doing anything too much can get monotonous. Cross training will help to reduce the monotony of riding hundreds of

kilometres – especially when all that training may be for diminishing returns.

Without listing every known activity, there are many sports that can be worked into your training program that will help to increase your performance on the mountain bike. I suggest the following sports as great alternatives; swimming, kayaking (paddling), rowing, surfing, squash, tennis or running (and by no means is this list exhaustive).

Running is an interesting alternative as it is an activity that has great “bang-for-itsbuck,” in that you can get a very effective work-out in 20 minutes. For many people, riding long kilometres during the week is difficult unless you enjoy early mornings or have an understanding employer. Therefore, a 20 to 30 minute run is an efficient alternative to a 60 to 90 minute ride. You may wish to run over varied terrain, and even include some hills or stairs to get the quads and glutes going and further help your ride fitness. But as a note of precaution, running has the propensity to injure those of us who are not natural runners and not accustomed to impact activities. For this reason I suggest that one to two short runs (less than

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30 minutes) per week is a time efficient way to cross train without significantly increasing the risk of injury if not accustomed to running. Be sure to run in sturdy shoes and spend the first 5 to 10 minutes warming into your run.

Water sports are my favorite activities for cross training. They are good fun, you can do them with your friends and they provide a good work out with less chance of injury. The only down side is that many water sports require additional equipment which may add to the burgeoning inventory of bikes in your garage, Therefore, swimming is a good alternative. There are plenty of places to go for a swim, including indoor and outdoor pools, rivers or the beach. Swimming is a non-weight bearing sport which is great for increasing flexibility and provides a total body work out – and for those who swim like a ‘set of keys’ it provides a significant work out. Depending on how well you swim, you may aim for one to two 3 km sessions per week. I usually go for a swim on my scheduled ‘dayoff my legs’ and I find it helps recovery whilst keeping my body active. It also has the added benefit of increasing upper body strength which is much needed for mountain biking, particularly for endurance events. For more of an upper body work out, kayaking, rowing, and surfing (including wind and kite surfing)

are great alternatives to swimming.

Kayaking is a personal favorite of mine as it requires many of the key facets that are integral to mountain biking fitness; core stability, cardio-vascular fitness, and upper body strength. However, if you prefer rowing or surfing you will get a similar training effect. Kayaking can be a very social activity, as you can get a group together and venture through the many waterways Australia has to offer. In the past, selecting a boat largely depended on the type of water courses you predominately paddled on. For example if you lived on the coast you’d probably paddle a surf ski, and if you lived inland and paddled on flat water (rivers and lakes) you would paddle a traditional kayak. However, sit-on-top, longer, surf skis (known as marathon skis) have improved significantly over the past five years, with designers producing very stable yet fast surf skis that offer great utility – and for a reasonable price. I suggest a marathon ski which will allow you the flexibility to paddle on lakes, rivers, estuarine waterways, as well as the open sea. A kayak with friends on a Sunday afternoon is a good way to finish off a solid week (or weekend) of mountain biking; or you may wish to substitute a ride for a kayak, row or surf once during the week to vary your training.

As you can see you can choose plenty of sports to cross train in. It’s important

to choose the one sport that best complements your life style and mountain biking goals; and one that doesn’t adversely affect your mountain biking. By cross training and properly integrating it into your working week, and training program, mountain bikers of all standards will improve their over-all fitness and improve their fitness on the bike.

The busy lives most of us live sometimes preclude us from getting out for a ride.

Therefore, cross training by using another sport or recreation is a time efficient and enjoyable way to maintain fitness and interest in the great sport of mountain biking.

Jeremy has a Master of Management Studies, a Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement) and works full time in Canberra.

He regularly participates in mountain bike events and road races, as well as multisport events. His sporting victories include the Noosa Triathlon in 1996, the Australian Multisport Championships and Upper Murray Challenge in 2006 and the Australian Mountain Bike Championship in the Expert Men category in 2008. Jeremy enjoys coaching endurance athletes in various sports with the express aim to help busy people achieve big results. If you want a personalised coaching program from Jeremy, please contact him on jemegross@bigpond.com

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Mountain Bike Strength Training We all know we should do it, but few of us do it, and even fewer do it regularly. Strength training can make a huge difference to your performance on the mountain bike – you only need to think of the last time someone dropped you on a climb to realise how strength training can help you improve. This article aims to cover the basic strength training for everyone, no matter how good you are. Those wanting a more specific or advanced strength training program should seek out a good strength and conditioning coach.

Words by Liam Delany | PHOTOs: Adam macleod

Core Stability What is it? Why is it so important? And how can you get more of it? In general terms, ‘Core Stability’ refers to the torso strength, think strong abdominals (all of them), lower back and other muscle groups of the torso that can contribute to the balance and stability of the body.

Without core stability we would have no foundations for our arms and legs to work from. The strength required to climb a mountain is drawn from the torso, then to the legs, both torso and legs have to be strong to take advantage of your fitness level. Good core stability is also essential for good technique, which in turn reduces the risk of injury.

To improve your core stability you need to do strength exercises. Strength training has come a long way since Rocky’s old-school approach however. We have to be smart, identify our weaknesses to restore the balance, and think about our technique to avoid further injury ( just like on the bike). If you do have injury concerns I’d recommend getting professional help.

Exercise Balls These are a great tool to use for improving your strength.

They offer a number of benefits such as: • Progression from body weight exercises • Increasing difficulty of exercise, thus increasing benefit • Time-efficient exercise • Wide variety of exercises • Making exercise fun, thus improving motivation In addition to an exercise ball, a set of dumbbells, bench and a bit of space is all you need. This article doesn’t include body weight exercises such as push ups, dips and chin ups but given the importance of muscular endurance in the upper body for mountain biking, I strongly recommend these exercises be included as part of your training.

For general exercise information or questions relating to this article contact Liam Delany from Vigor Health & Fitness: www.vigor.net.au

The following exercises should give you a start with your strength training: Crunches

Lift your torso as if to bring your body to an upright position

With your back to the floor, arch back right over ball, look straight up. Use head and upper body as the weight

For twisting crunches just add twisting motion at end of straight crunch

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Back Extensions

Extend so that back and legs become aligned Lean right over ball to get full range of motion, hands on back of head and feet as wide as you need for balance (closer the feet, the more difficult the exercise)

Add twist at end of motion for twisting back extension

Bridge With back to the floor, shoulders and head resting on ball, arms down by side (for safety) or out wide for balance Hips up high and feet a comfortable distance apart (closer together the more difficult the exercise) Progressions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lift one leg out to challenge balance (and work glutes), or balance on dura disc (balance board)

Side Crunches Place hip on the ball slightly closer to wall from the midline.

Bottom leg forward (with thigh on ball), top leg back, with feet as flush to wall as possible

get fast

Elbow to Knee Crunches

Hands behind head and drop torso down over ball, crunch up as high as you can while keeping torso in line

Hold onto something for balance Bring inside leg up to meet outside elbow At full extension, leg remains up in the air

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Hip Flexion Feet/shins on ball (more difficult the further away the ball is) draw knees towards chest, keeping hips where they are, do not lift them.

Can also be done with hands on ground, and can add push ups between repetitions

Running Person

Hands on ball shoulder width apart, arms vertical, and body as straight as possible Lift one knee up at a time, alternate sides

Reverse Curl Lying back on ball hanging onto fixed object of similar height to your level Arms straight, neck relaxed, lift legs so sacrum is resting on ball The aim is to project legs up so the sacrum comes off the ball Try not to sway legs

Squats

Feet shoulder width apart, lean into ball and move down into seated position Ensure knees stay in line with toes and stay behind them in seated position Weights optional, best to get technique right before using weights Variation is one leg squats, but make sure knee doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drop in or hips out

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Mongooseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shaun Lewis knows a thing or two about hard training Photo: John Fraser

get fast

Training for ultra-endurance MTB events Part III In part two of the series we looked at the various workouts that could be used and programmed into a schedule to get the rider to the start line in the peak of physical condition for the minimum investment of time. This issue we are going to put it altogether and look at how those workouts should be structured into a 16 week training program.

W

e asked a few questions in the last issue. These were: how many of these sessions do we put into each week of training? When should we program a recovery week?

What should we do if we have to miss a session? And what do we do if we are feeling unwell? Most training programs are based around the common terminology of base, build, peak and race phases. With the less is more type of program, where quality sessions are programmed right from the beginning, the base and build phase can be amalgamated into one 10 week block of training. This 10 week block can follow a 4 weeks on, 1 week off type of periodisation. Each week will get progressively harder, increasing the physiological load on the body, followed on week 5 by a recovery week, which allows the body to recover and overcompensate for the 4 preceding harder weeks. This style of periodisation was established by Dr Tudor Bompa but was, however, originally designed for weight training not aerobic endurance type training. Therefore, with the correct monitoring of training load (and the use of power meters), it is possible to create training blocks of between 3 - 6 weeks before structuring in a recovery week. For the purpose of this article we will follow a 4 week build 1 week recovery periodisation model.

After the 10 week base/build phase a 5 week specific peak and race phase can be added. This phase will focus specifically on the demands of the particular event due to be raced.

Specificity of exercise is especially important during this phase.

If the course to be ridden has a multitude of short pinch climbs, it is essential to replicate this during this phase to fine tune and specifically prepare the body for the target event. Likewise, if the event is on a flatter more rolling course the specific workouts should replicate this with longer intervals at or near to threshold.

Words by Mark Fenner

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The chart below shows this typical base/build and peak/race phase followed by a seven day taper for the target event.

Macro

16 Week 24 Hour Training Plan

Meso

Base and Build Phase

Micro

1

2

3

4

5

6

Peak and Race Phase

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Typical Base/Build Weeks 1 - 10 The chart below shows a typical base/build week, the principles of progressive overload will continue to be added according to the sessions outlined in article number two.

MORNING

AFTERNOON / EVENING

MON

Rest

Rest

TUE

Session 6 or 7

WED

MORNING

AFTERNOON / EVENING

MON

Rest

Rest

Rest

TUE

Session 6 or 7

Rest

Session 2 or 4

Rest

WED

Session 2 or 4

Rest

THUR

Session 3

Rest

THUR

Session 3

Rest

FRI

Rest or Recovery Session 5

Rest

FRI

Rest or Recovery Session 5

Rest

SAT

Session 6 or 7

Rest

SAT

Session 2 or 4

Rest

SUN

Session 1

Rest

SUN

Session 1

Rest

Typical Peak/Race Weeks 11 - 15 The chart below shows a typical peak/race phase week.

MORNING

AFTERNOON/EVENING

MON

Rest

Rest

TUE

Session 6 or 7

Rest

WED

Session 5

Rest

THUR

Session 6 or 7

Rest

FRI

Session 5

Rest

SAT

Pre-Race tune up

Rest

SUN

XC or Enduro Race

Rest

During this phase the VO2 sessions should have been increased up to a max time of 30 - 40 minutes in the heart rate zone outlined in article 2 for V02 workouts. These sessions require a great deal of motivation to complete, however they will increase the ceiling of your aerobic capacity and therefore any percentage of that maximal aerobic power that you will work at during a 24 hour event. Recovery from these sessions is very important therefore there are more recovery sessions included in the program during this phase. It is also a good idea during this peak/race phase to include some racing. Racing is the very best training there is as you will always put in just that little bit more effort during a race.

It also allows feeding plans and other important race strategies to be trialed before the big event where mistakes have a greater impact. Using races as training for the big one also hits our specificity of exercise rationale directly, especially if the courses are similar to our target race.

I would recommend completing your last enduro of up to 8 hours no closer than 2 weeks before the big event. This will allow for adequate recovery, however you could compete in a XC race of up to 2 hours one week before as your final hard specific effort.

The pre-race tune up is just like session 5 but with 3 x 3 minute with 5 minute recovery between efforts at race pace to get you body ready for the race on the following day. This session is vital to a good race and is often neglected.

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Typical Taper Week 16 The chart below outlines a standardized 7 day taper

MORNING

AFTERNOON/EVENING

SAT

Pre-Race tune up

Rest

SUN

XC Race

Rest

MON

Rest

Rest

TUE

Session 5

Rest

WED

Session 5

Rest

THUR

Rest

Rest

FRI

Pre-Race tune up

Rest

SAT

Rest

Target 24 Hour Race

SUN

Target 24 Hour Race

Put Your Feet Up And Relax ;o)

get fast

The main objective of the taper is to bring the rider into their key event fresh and ready to go. All the residual fatigue should be gone and you should feel ready to rip the cranks off the bike.

The above program would be suitable for a rider who has competed in 4 man team 24 hr events for fun who has completed a 12 hour race solo and who has ambition to take their riding up to the next level and compete in a solo 24 hr event with the aim of riding solidly for 24 hrs. The basic principles of this program, however, can be altered to suit almost any level of rider with alterations made to the duration and quantity of the sessions provided in article number two. There are so many variables to consider and look for regarding training optimisation that I could fill the pages of Enduro Mag for the next couple of years.

So what happens if we are feeling ill or we are too tired to complete a session? Simple, just move forward a recovery week, have a rest and then resume the program. The body is pretty good at telling us when we need to rest, so it is very important to listen to it and read the signs. Things like sleep disturbance, increased or decreased appetite, the feeling of stress and becoming snappy with your family and friends are all tell-tale signs that you may be slightly over-reaching and in need of a rest.

Ok, so by now you should have all the sessions and planning you need to start looking at the race calendar and thinking ahead. Start thinking about what event you want to race and work out how to apply the program and get too it.

Good luck and if you see me on the trail during a 24 hour race please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come charging by!!!

Cheers Mark Fenner | www.ftptraining .com

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Enduro turns ten this issue, no more single digits, and to celebrate we are offering the first 50 subscribers a copy of the DVD 24 Solo. It’s a well filmed, big budget flick that documents the epic battle between 6-time World Solo Champ Chris Eatough and Aussie Craig Gordon at the ’06 Solo World 24hr Champ’s. It’s remembered as the day that a little-known Aussie came to spoil the yankee party and makes for insightful, captivating viewing. Watching it is more exciting than this drivel though: subscribe to Enduro ASAP and you’re likely to get a shiny copy in the mail.

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track talk

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Across the Tasman: Queenstown Revisited Words and PHOTOS by Travis Deane

Long famed for its all-day epics, Queenstown has been quietly reinventing itself as a premier mountain bike destination with more and more sweet, accessible singletrack. Read on to find out about mountain biking on the other side of the Tasman.

W

histler Mountain Bike Park in Canada is often talked about as the pinnacle of mountain bike trails world-wide. Canada is great but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a long, expensive way away. It may come as a surprise that you can get similar trail-ride bliss a whole lot closer to home.

Queenstown in New Zealand has everything

that has made Canada famous, albeit on a smaller scale. Sweetening the deal, plane tickets direct to Queenstown can be as cheap as $100 each way, giving us Aussies very little excuse not to see some dramatic scenery and awesome trails.

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track talk

Seven Mile Creek GPS co-ordinates: S45°03.671’ E168°34.075’ Queenstown’s dramatic mountains suggest all-day epics and steep climbs followed by disc-brake-glowing descents. This doesn’t have to be the way though. If you want less dramatic terrain Seven Mile Creek gives you tight, technical, flowing singletrack that’s super accessible. Put simply, Seven Mile Creek is where the locals go when they want to ride. The track starts at Wilson Bay car park, it’s a decent climb first up but gives you a great roll back to the car. The network of trails has been receiving a lot of local attention and the old-school steep descents with drop offs and roll downs have been bolstered by the addition of playful tracks like “Cool Runnings” which has a lot of beginner North Shore style ramps all in the surrounds of flowing trails. It wouldn’t be Queenstown without its extreme stuff, so approach everything with a bit of caution and you’ll be flying around the tracks like a local in no time.

Gondola Area GPS co-ordinates: S45°02.051’, E168°38.936 Queenstown teeters preciously on a thin ribbon of land seemingly on the verge of slipping into Lake Wakatipu. Looming above is the gondola up to Ben Lomond (1748m) – a magnet for tourists. From the car park the fire road climbs all the way to the top. The climb is relentless and great enduro training.

With tracks crisscrossing their way down, it offers some awesome descent options.

Almost all the trails are old-school – straight down very steep terrain with roots and ruts aplenty. If climbing isn’t your thing, Vertigo (www.gravityaction.com) do a shuttle on the gondola.

One stand-out trail on the mountain and a Queenstown classic is the Fernhill Loop. It starts halfway up and follows rolling contours, gently climbing the hill as you ride through stunning native beach forest. The higher you go the more technical it gets.

Once you get to the top you can continue around to Wynward Freestyle Park (see below) or you can turn around and retrace your steps. The trail takes you down through fantastic technical flowing trails you can’t fully appreciate on the way up. This is an absolute Queenstown classic.

Wynward Freestyle Park A local map will point out Wynward Crescent, or alternatively the car park of the gondola area. It is truly astonishing how inventive the Kiwis have been in their North Shore construction. There are so many ways to hurt yourself there! The jumps are so big I’m sure Sir Edmund Hillary would have been proud.

For the meek there are smaller challenges.

This place is amazing to check out even if most of it is un-rideable for most of us. Others still wanting to hurt themselves but on a smaller scale can check out the intermediate jumps at the massive Gorge Road Jump Park.

Coronet Peak GPS co-ordinates: S44°55.598 E168°44.160’ You could spend all day getting half a dozen runs in around the gondola area, or you could do better trails in half the time riding back up on a chairlift at Coronet Peak. You might not be into downhill but Coronet Peak has an XC downhill, or enduro downhill. The trail offers a gradual descent that snakes gracefully across alpine tundra, through countless berms, interspersed with stunning views and lots of technical trail features. It’s mountain biking at its best. The average trail bike is more than up for this, although stick some bigger tyres on and you’ll be having more fun.

The DH course is extreme with the B lines challenging on a trail bike. Seriously consider hiring a downhill bike at the hill for the day, trust me – it’s worth it. They even do body armour, which is great as it will keep you warm on the chairlift ride back up. There is an XC loop there as well, but for most riders the enduro downhill track with its kilometres of fun technical flowing trail is enough to keep them happy. We did half a dozen runs in a couple of hours and were thankful we hadn’t signed up for all day. Our forearms were mush and fatigue had led to some close calls at high speed. Don’t overbite this cherry. If you have any energy left check out the Zoot track on the way home for a little more of a dirt-fix.

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And the rest We’d be quartered if we didn’t mention Moonlight Track, which loops around the back of Queenstown past Moke Lake (a good camping spot). It’s still open but there is a bit of a slip 500m from the Arthurs Point end. Skippers Canyon is a bit of a regional classic as well.

If you came to NZ to be dropped on a remote mountain-top with your mates as a helicopter lifts away leaving you high, isolated and a long way from the bottom, there

is the option of chopper flights. Visit www.gravityaction.com or www.fat-tyre. co.nz both for a range of bowel loosening options (even a seven day singletrack tour of some of the South Islands best singletrack) Check out www.outsidesports.co.nz on the main street. The guys there are a wealth of knowledge and heavily involved in the mountain bike scene, they even have their hire bike models and prices online. The club sells a great pocketable map www.qmtbc.co.nz

ENDURO 10

which you can order online or buy there at any MTB shop.

If you finally get sick of Queenstown, Wanaka is just up the road. Thankfully, this area has a much lower rainfall than Queenstown and is a good place to head if Queenstown is busy getting green. With so many options so close to home beef up your bike, dust off your Kiwi jokes and get across the Tasman to an infamous place that is enjoying a bit of a renaissance. Ride on Bro!

Brakeburner DH – Enduro Racing Queenstown Style CHECK LIST

Hey Bro, You need the Kennett Bros!

Want to go on epic rides in NZ without having to know how to field dress as sheep? The Kennett Brothers have been a Queenstown institution since the early 90’s publishing what soon became the bible for long rides in NZ. Quite a task and it’s certainly kept them busy. This December saw them release their 7th version, with over 400 pages covering over 300 rides. Aussies who want some pre-holiday planning can get it for $35 through www.groundeffect.co.nz. The book offers great route descriptions for trail riding throughout the country. Finally, there’s a pocketable trail guide of the Queenstown area available through the Queenstown club:

www.qmtbc.co.nz

Body armour Downhill tyres Full face Helmet Full suspension all mountain bike Four sets of replacement pads Brakeburner is “The Worlds First 6 hour lift-accessed Super D endurance mountain bike race.”

Yes you read right, you catch the chairlift up and smash it down. The race goes for six hours. You race in a team to see how many laps you can pump out of Coronet Peak’s downhill-XC track. Doing this race means you’ll be well into the triple digits if you could possibly keep track of how many berms you’ll crank. There are some pedalling sections as well. You’d be well advised to check the gallery out at www.brakeburner.co.nz and watch the video of guys railing, hucking and roosting down the trail hour after hour. It’s unfortunate it’s already sold out for February in 2009 but watch the video and you’ll soon be planning for February 2010!

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Stage 3 of the Cape to Cape Photo: Bohdan Warchomij

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