Blogs

In late August I was sitting down after dinner checking my email and up popped a mail from Ground Effect. It went like this:

"Hi Paul

The Heaphy Track is a multi-day backcountry ride with no equal in New Zealand - 78 outrageous kilometres of benched singletrack snaking its way across the top of the South Island. A three year trial commenced in 2011, allowing seasonal (winter) access for mountain bikes. This appears to have gone sweetly but we will need to see that confirmed by the authorities later in the year.

Lap times are up & a few nobbers should be on the podium..... www.durt.com.au

Perfect conditions and a fast track, greeted two SXC Racing Teams on the weekend. With the MTB season ramping backup, the Masters team have thought the STM series is a good way to sharpen their skills in readiness for some of the bigger races. Whilst Gary Harwood and Martine Robin in the Mixed Pairs are currently series leaders and wanted to add to their impressive results of the season.

For some reason I can't link to the original calendar entry through BMORC but below relates to this race; http://nobmob.com/node/42470

Round 3 of the Singletrack Mind series was back at Awaba. Awaba is a really fun track to ride and pretty fun to race on too.
Craig and I headed up on Saturday and got in a couple of recce laps - luckily we did; Camel Back was bunted off, forcing you up Straw. There was also a new section of track not long after that was loose, off-camber and quite technical. Great for riding, not so good for racing with people of differing abilities around.

Have entered a number of shorter marathon races and team lap races in the past, but this was the first solo lap race i've done (maybe a 7 hour race was a bit crazy!). My training has been getting better and so I thought "why not" , lets see what happens.

I've raced at Awaba before in a pairs team and struggled towards the end with cramp. Therefore I knew I needed to self seed pretty well and start at the back. For the first 2 laps I felt pretty comfortable (averaging around 49 min laps). This was a good period to just practice on the course and not worry about people passing me.

A little piece I wrote on my birthday a few weeks ago... Just thought I'd post it here for anyone who's interested.

Before I start, I just want to say right up front that this is written by a bloke, about blokes. There are many women out there who are way better mountain bikers than I'll ever be, and no doubt have great stories to tell. But this is about blokes.

Good to meet some more NobMobbers and fellow noobies. Beginning to wonder though whether Hawkeye is an actual person or just someone's alter ego. Hope you're feeling better and might catch you on another ride sometime soon!

http://youtu.be/adSYZ1ADlJU

top day on the bike, went out in the 3rd wave and took it easy at the start then got into a good rhythm, rode all the climbs and didn't stop. pleased with my result.

Well what can I say - great event, well organised and great course !

For those that love singletrack then this is the race for you. It was hard to imagine a course that can push you to your limits and put a smile on your face at the same time.

I didn't have this race on my calendar at first, but when a spare ticket came up, and we had a crew from SXC Racing Team already going I thought what the hell, how can I miss this. I am glad I didn't miss this one.