I'm doing the Half Fling this year which will be my third race having previously done the 50km Dirtworks and the Back Yamma 50km a few weeks ago.

Any advice on how to tackle the fling, particularly around :

1) Bike - I will have by then a 26" and 29" inch dually.........is the course suited to a 29er ??
2) Time - I did the Dirtworks 50Km in 2:45 and the Back Yamma 50km in 2:15.........what can I expect in terms of ballpark for the Half Fling............over 3 hours ?
3) Course - from what I can see there are plenty of short sharp climbs ??

Anything else to watch out for ??

Man, what an event!!!

So freakin huge!!!!

I loved it, it hurt like buggery (well my back did...) But I loved every second of it!

The down hill sections, with the jumps were so much fun. I also loved all the techy parts, the rocky sections and the tight twisty's through the trees.

The night laps were awesome too! Having to tuck the shoulders in to dodge impacts with trees and feel them brush past you as you zoomed past!

This got posted over at rotorburn in response to a kid asking what he needed to know before heading to a DH race. As a race oganiser it cracked me up so I thought I'd reshare it.

OK, this is what you need to know:

1. Always stop in the most ridiculous spot possible where other riders can't see you as they approach. Trust me, they'll appreciate it.

Saturday the 18th of september will see the introduction of a HMBA night race as a charity fund raiser. We are raising money to support the Westpac Rescue Helicopter which has made several visits to Awaba in the past year.

Race start will be at 6pm with registration opening at 5pm.
Cost: Adults $15, Children: $10 (all entry fees will go to charity)
Where: Awaba mountain bike park.

Expect a shortened version of the yellow course with a few surprises to keep things interesting.
This will be a timed 2 hour race and will use standard graded racing classes (ie A, B, C etc).