Category: Event Reports
Pete’s Track Sprint Race Report
Where else would you have rather been on a mountain bike on Sunday? Bendigo 6 hour, ahh, No, rain, rain rain there. Bulldog Junction, hell yeah. Not cold, not hot, just right.
The trail fairies had been and had completed an awesome job of tidying up the track, it was in superb nic. Thanks to those people who tirelessly volunteer for the club both on and off the committee, without you lot, the club would not operate! Congratulations.
Thank You And Congratulations To Our Volunteers!!!!!
A huge thank you goes to all of our volunteers for their superb effort at last weekend’s Australian MTB Series event (Downhill) at Mt Baw Baw. We have received nothing but praise from MTBA officials and riders alike, all commenting on the professionalism and effortless way in which our volunteers contributed to what was a…
Nowa Nowa 4 Hour Enduro Report – 30-Oct-2010
The inaugural Nowa Nowa Bike Odyssey festival got off to a wet start on Saturday 30th October with the Gippsland MTB 4 hour enduro. 44 riders turned out to race despite the ominous weather forecast for the weekend. The clouds rolled in during registration time and by race briefing time the rain was belting down. It was quite amusing to see nearly 50 people huddled under 2 pit tents trying to stay dry when they were going to be covered in mud in only a few moments time.
To change things up a bit we decided to run 2 separate courses for the race. The first 2 hours were up track 5 and down track 2 with the final 2 hours up track 1 and down track 4. This proved to be a wise decision which reduced the potential for any damage to the trails in the wet conditions. Luckily the Nowa Nowa trails hold up very well to rain and drain very quickly. The trails are actually better now from a bit of heavier use.
Erica 2 Hour Enduro Report – 26-Sep-2010
The 26th of September saw 38 eager riders line up for the second Erica Enduro in this great riding area. The Guys from the Gippsland MTB Club definitely know how to run a great club race.
The course was a rippa consisting of a 6km loop – nearly all single trail with maybe 800 metres of 4WD track. The loop had some very new MTB single trail, older single trail, red clay soil with awesome traction in the dry (like ice when wet). I feel that the 38 riders were quite happy that the trails were dry (all except one).
Blores Hill Checkpoint Race Report: 22-Aug-2010
A small group of keen riders turned out in perfect sunny conditions on Sunday 22nd August for the second annual Blores Hill Checkpoint race. It would be interesting to see which type of rider would win the day – the super fit fast guys or those with local knowledge and/or superior navigation skills.
Nowa Nowa 3 Hour Enduro Report: 27-Jun-2010
Sunday saw the first of what will be many races staged by the Gippsland Mountain Bike Club at the recently opened Nowa Nowa Mountain Bike Park. Riders were greeted with the potentially confusing race format of completing loops of ascending track 1 and descending track 2 back to transition. Fortunately all riders managed to negotiate their way around without getting lost.
The Nowa Nowa Mountain Bike Park which was officially opened in April this year is situated on the side of a hill with track 1 climbing from the trail head some 4.5 kilometers to the highest point on the stacked looped network of trails with a number of different descending options. Track two is by far the most preferred route home with numerous well constructed log roll-overs and a plethora of bermed corners to keep the flow going and the pace high. Fast, actually. Really fast.
GSBC/CWM Boolarra 3 Hour Enduro Report – 25-Apr-2010
55 riders braved the weather to tackle the first mountain bike event run at Boolarra, the Great Southern Bike Company/Colin Watson Motors 3 Hour Enduro. After the heavy rain of Saturday, riders were greeted to a light shower at registration. However, as it got closer to race start the sun made an appearance in a last minute attempt to dry out the course.
The event attracted competitors of all skill levels, from first time mountain bike riders using the clubs loan bikes to serious interstate competitors. However everyone was there for the same purpose, to go out and have some fun in the bush.
Mt Taylor Race Review
KONA Victorian Downhill Mountain Bike Series
Round 4 – Mt Taylor, Bairnsdale
Every rider who has been racing in the KONA VDHS this season will agree with me that this is the best season we have had for years. Round 4 at Mt Taylor was definitely one of the most anticipated rounds of the season. With a new track at Mt Taylor and a new club being Gippsland MTB hosting the event it was sure to be another fantastic weekend of riding and racing. 216 riders made the journey into the country town of Bairnsdale with anticipation for a great result in their respective categories. I was lucky enough to ride this track a week before the race and it was a course that had everything from technical rock gardens, tight corners, long pedalling straights and jumps. The course had a 300m vertical decent over a twisty 2.32km distance, coupled with the dry soil this was leading up to be one hell of a downhill racing weekend.
Wednesday Evening Learnings From The Mid Week Social Rides
The following pearls of wisdom have been picked up over a wonderful eight weeks at Blores Hill riding into the dust, sorry dusk.
Fast Group means: Let’s have some red bull, ooze a ton of testosterone, eyes as big as dinner plates and hammer the shit out of this. “What, where, let’s jump off that”.
Medium Group means: A little less than the above, let’s go, stuff em, faster, and let’s not injure ourselves
Slow group means: We’re still going to go hard enough to cough up a lung.
Erica 2 Hour Enduro Report: 21-Feb-2010
62 riders drove to Erica for the first race of the year for Gippsland MTB, the Loy Yang Power Erica 2 Hour Enduro. This was the first time that a mountain bike event have been run in the Erica and will surely not been the last. The event was a short 2 hour enduro to give riders a sneak peak at what this region has to offer, and no one was disappointed.
Rain, What Rain? Partners Social Ride : 14-Feb-2010
A small, but dedicated group braved the threat of rain to join in the clubs Partners Social Ride on the Moe/Yallourn Rail Trail on Valentines Day. The intrepid riders set off from the base of the serine Yallourn Power Station cooling towers and headed towards Moe in a mild mist of rain. This weather allowed…
GMTB Success at Nationals
Australian MTB Series National Round 2 09/10 – Shepparton
Gippsland MTB Members Downhill Results
Round 2 of the Australian National Series (including XCO, 4X, Enduro, XCC and DH) was held last weekend at Shepparton.
Driving from Shepparton to Dookie for a downhill event is quite strange – it’s flat for as far as you can see, until in the distance you see a large hill protruding from the dry and parched landscape. It doesn’t look much like a place for a downhill event – at a distance!