Author Archives: Kath Bicknell

Enduro Issue 14

Issue 14 has landed!  There’s intriguing writing from cover to cover, photography that reflects the emotional memories and atmosphere the sport creates, and the fresh looking graphic design ups the class even further.

I enjoyed putting together an article for the Girl Talk section that looks at gear choices and bike mods which have helped some of Australia’s most consistent and successful female racers meet the physical and durational demands of day (or weekend) long races.  I also had the chance to cover the Highland Fling, which was a fun piece to write as it was nice to sit back and reflect on the different elements that made the weekend so rewarding and memorable (and tough!).

Other reading this issue includes a piece on the crew who keep the Shimano factory at the top of its game, interesting perspectives on several recent events, the historical story of the Karapoti Classic (which I didn’t realise until now had been going for 25 years), tales of two-wheeled tours and interviews with Russ Baker and newly crowned 100k champ, Murray Spink.

With so much going on in bike-land Issue 15 is already looking packed, but fortunately the time between release dates means time to catch up on reading, riding and a mass ingestion of Christmas pudding.

Western Sydney Ladies’ Day

The Western Sydney Mountain Bike (WSMTB) Club are hosting a women’s skills clinic on the 16th of January 2010.  This is the day before the second event in the JetBlack Summer Enduro Series so it’s a good chance to get to know the terrain, discover ways of upping your confidence on niggling sections of singletrack and spend the weekend in the fresh lower mountains air.

Instructors are being provided by Australian Mountain Bike Clinics as part of a new initiative to give something back to clubs.  The clinic will go for six hours and cater for riders of all skill and fitness levels. Groups will be limited to 8 riders per 1 instructor (including myself).  I’d recommend bringing enough water and food to get yourself through the day as there’s nothing worse than having to concentrate on a bike with an empty stomach before the lunch break!  The clinics will cost $62.50 per rider, or $85 if you want to add a BBQ lunch on Saturday and the 4 hour race on Sunday to your party list.

Further details, and online entry information, are available on the WSMTB website.  If you haven’t been to the site in a while, it’s worth another look as it’s recently been snazzed up and includes some great photos from recent events.

Merida Carbon 96 MTB

While I was umm-ing and ahh-ing about what style of bike would be the best choice for the following year, a mate said to choose the bike which will suit most of the riding you want to do.  The Merida 96 is just that:  out of the box it weighed 9.85 kg making it lighter than most hardtail race bikes. The extensively researched dual suspension design keeps it racey when you need it to be fast and efficient, but also takes the edge of during the more fatiguing rides. My hope is that with the light weight and efficient travel it will be a blast during XC races, meanwhile the increased comfort factor will mean a truck load less fatigue and shoulder pain during day long events.

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Merida Flight Centre MTB Team

I’m pleased to announce that I will be flying the colours of the Merida Flight Centre Team next year.  While the national team of Terri Rhodes, Jodie Willet, Adrian Jackson and James Peacock will be hitting up the high profile races throughout Australia and overseas, the state branch (myself and several others) is aimed at supporting developing riders with potential nationwide and, perhaps most importantly, enables me to concentrate on my final year of study without lots of travel and time away from home.  Obviously, I’m pretty thrilled and looking forward to a great year ahead.

State riders are supported by Advanced Traders (the Australian distributor of Merida bikes), SRAM, Shimano, Schwalbe (tyres), Shotz (nutrition) and JetBlack Products (the local importer of NiteRider Lights).  Local bike shops also play a huge role in supporting team riders.  As my body responds so well to the Verofit products I have been using I will continue to use these as an alternative to Shotz.

Christening the new bike out on some of my favourite local trails. How nice is the view?

The new bike has redefined my definition of unbelievable.  I felt it only fair to give it its very own post.