You Yangs mud wrestling

Ah Victoria, in Australia's south. Famous, currently, for it's lack of rain. This big brown land has never been browner and browness is what we were greeted with upon landing at Tullamarine airport. Brown and a place called Lazy Moe's where the food is plentiful and reasonable.

We hired two All Terrain Vehicles (read; hire cars) for the trip firstly to the Peacock's lovely abode out in the east. Stopping in Greensbrough we wrangled some free coffees from a delicious little cafe, only because we were unsure of quality and had been stung in the past. Onwards to the Peacock's for a race around their property on some good old fashioned home built trail. Only problem is it's all on the side on a hill. Lots of short, sharp climbs but plenty of fun. James "P-hen" taking line honours with some good insider track building knowledge.

After being stung in the morning by bad coffee and small food portions, we made trek cross city to visit a few of our sponsors. BBB sunglasses, Lazer helmets and Schwalbe tyre were all on the list and the guys and girls were more than happy to see us. Good to know the face behind the product(s).

Up up and away to the You Yangs for a happy lap. By this time it was raining and the journey involved some off roading which, if I had the money, i'd be doing more of. Remember, if it's not you car it goes faster, handles dirt better and might even be good in the air. Riding in the wet is fun and our practice lap proved this. The same couldn't be said about the rego tent where most of us had pre-entered for the short course, and paid only to be told we hadn't entered and that it would be $55. Good luck! And i'm still trying to get my money back from Geelong mountain bike club - Thanks guys.

Our rented accommodation consisted of a shack which turned into an island sometime around midnight with all the rain we had there. It had gone from dry as a bone to the lake district in one night. We could only imagine what the track would be like!

Wet, windy and cold. Really f$cking cold. After our team tent disintegrated, along with most others due the the wind, we were left to stand in the open, cheering on other team members who were already out there (the lucky saps) So by race time, even with a "warm up" it was no use. The muscles had completely seized and all that was happening, was slow. Oh so slow! 

Lucky because with the wind there were alot of trees coming down on the course, so every lap was something new. First on a climb it was get off and run due to fallen trees, then on a descent it was blind corner BAM!! tree fallen across the track. Awesome. How the hell can you continue to run a race with this kind of thing going on? I know mountain biking isn't the safest sport anyway, but the risk of being crushed by something doesn't do it for me. After some consulting with various marshals (note; abusing various people) I decided enough was enough with a flat tyre on the third lap of five. Race over. I wasn't the only one either with the sand and mud taking it's toll, especially on brake pads.

Stress was relieved and the weekend made more palatable with the bogging of a hire car in deep water/mud. I won't name names but it redeemed the weekend for me.

So next up it's the National champs and I can't say i'm looking forward to it. These last two results have done nothing to help my start position and as i sit here typing instead of riding due to a ruptured ligament in my hand, I wonder, how can anything good come of this?

Is this the real Triathlon?

Mountain biking is fun! I really do enjoy it. It's the whole reason I traveled to the Gold Coast and then traveled a little further for National round #3, to Illinbah. Never heard of it? How about Nerang? No? I can't name any other nearby places as there aren't any, so you'll have to look it up.

Greeted by bad coffee and piklets (sure have been pancakes) the first thing you notice (other than the culinary misfortunes) is the humidity. No one, except the people that live there, are used to it. Making it worse is having to wind your heart rate up to 100% in it. It really makes you appreciate being so close to nice, long beaches.

And swim we did in the 98% humidity during the race, making life very tough. People were dropping like flies, obviously none of them local. Many were treated for heat exhaustion during the day. Compounding the fun was a thunder storm sweeping through the race during lap 5 of 7 increasing humidity to over 400%!! 

With MTBA not knowing the rules of the sport they are governing in their own country the verdict was finally reached to shorten the race by a lap (during the Elite mens) Pity they informed the participants during the 6th lap that it would be their last, therefor making any contest for final position sprints null and void.

So with the ride, swim and running taken care of it was down to more important issues like; can a Hyundai i30 hire van drive through 2 feet of moving water?

Yes it can! But you sure wont see them doing much else. Especially handling or accelerating in a hurry.

Stay tuned for National round #4 in short time.

Riser bars and barends RANT

Think of the last ride you went on. Were you in a group? Did you see anybody out on a mountain bike? Did anyone have a "riser handlebar" (that is, a handlebar that curves upwards a little) with "barends" (the little stubby bar that sits 90 degrees to the handlebar on each end) on?

I bet they did. Why? Well I'm not sure. Let me take you through why I'm not sure.

Firstly, back in "the day", whenever that might have been, lets say a decade ago. Riserbars were few and far between on the cross country (XC) circuit. More associated with down hill riding or otherwise. Flat bars were the norm. Skinny little bars for skinny little people. Makes sense.

Problem: Skinny bars cramp your chest cavity and hinder breathing.

Solution: Barends! Fantastic, now I can climb like a scalded cat, my chest is open therefor my breathing is less restricted, see you at the top you loser.

Now riserbars are in, and fair enough. Extra height suits most people, makes riding more comfortable, more enjoyable and the wider bar gives better steering control, plus it OPENS UP YOUR CHEST. Hence, barends are now obsolete.

So why the hell do you have them on your bike?

That is the question I would like you to ask the next person you see with this hideous arrangement. There is a good chance that the person receiving this question will also have many other items of paraphernalia up in the cock-pit. Cycle computers, GPS, lights, horns, bells, aero-bars, ergonomic grips, steerer tube extenders etc You get the general idea.

It's quite obvious that fashion is not a strong point with this person. Going fast is important, but looking good even more so. After all, isn't that what cycling is all about?

Crocodile Trophy

It's been run, and won. The 2008 Crocodile Trophy again proving a little too tough to make a sizable impact on. The Merida Flightcentre team had lofty ambitions, coming in with their strongest team. It was a 3 pronged attack in the mens with Nick Both, Adrian Jackson and last years 3rd place getter Tim Bennett looking to improve on 07. In the womans category, Jo Bennett (wife of Tim, but she's far more talented than just to be known as "Tim's wife") looked strong enough to win although her stage racing pedigree was yet to be tested to it's full extent.

Right from the get go it was complete domination from the Czech VIG racing team. We were completely unaware these guys were all pros, let alone having 4 former national champions in their ranks. We all did what we could but knew early on that we had been out gunned. Jo on the other hand was racing superbly and secured the leaders jersey for the first stage, wearing it for the next 7 days. At this point the entire team was racing for Jo, having tried our hand at a stage win or two, Adrian coming closest with an excellent 2nd in stage 6, while Nick continued the tradition of flatting while feeling his best in the lead group during stage 7. We fought tooth and nail but in the end were overrun by weight of numbers. Jo finishing on the 2nd step of the podium. It may be an Australian race but this year Flemish was dominant language in the camp. God Verdomme!

The experience is one to be savoured though, this is like no other race. Camping under the stars, swimming with the fresh water crocs, eating 14 times your weight in bulldust each day. There really is nothing like the Crocodile Trophy.

Welcome

Afternoon all!

Welcome to the first edition of "the rolling word." Here you will find all there is to know about the Australian mountain bike scene, the what's and where's, who's and why's. Latest race results and most importantly the progress of the Merida Flightcentre mountain bike team as they travel the globe in search of the greatest races!

Exciting times ahead, stay tuned.