The Biking Community – Page 13

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 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.

Fenner’s Total Performance

Fellow Enduro writer, Mark ‘Fenz’ Fenner (pictured above) is the brains behind FTP training – a sustainable approach to total racing domination which matches effective use of time out riding with a focus on the importance of proper recovery. The idea here is that effective training can be balanced around work, study and play commitments. This suits me to a T as I tend to need more recovery time than most riders and have a habit of burning out pretty quickly if I over-do the ks on the road.

Fenz took me on board during the lead up to the Highland Fling (after I managed to blow myself up before three of the four winter state rounds this year – although the riding was fun, it’s a little dissatisfying knowing you could stitch it together better to up the enjoyment even further). So far I have heaps more energy on and off the bike, the training drills have reinvigorated the fun that was missing during midweek city-style rides, and my legs are starting to look like they actually belong to a cyclist – gotta be happy with that. I also appreciate the chance to learn about more science-based approaches to the sport.

The photo above is from the Coolendel Race Weekend. Fenner and Josh Carlson (long time FTP disciple, and the NSW men’s ’09 State Series champ) were fighting it out for the win in the 4 hour race that Sunday, until the windy conditions saw a tree fall on Fenz’ leg and he saw it fit to call it a day. Good to see he was still all smiles during the event! If you’re keen to read more, check out the FTP Training page or have a gander at Fenner’s Blog.

Ride Calendar: supporting brain and spinal injury research

The consequences of injury is a reality we fear in mountain biking, and something we often try not to think about due to the uncertainty of what it could do to our quality of life. With a focus on life after injury, Ride Calendar 2010 tackles this issue in an inspiring, positive manner. The calendar is a non profit initiative from Design by Peppi and features stunning illustrations of high-profile riders who have sustained life-changing injuries doing the sport they love. The website created for the calendar includes a collection of short interviews revealing the attitudes, determination and new experiences of these athletes post-injury.

All profits from the sale of this calendar will to go to Wings for Life and the Brain Foundation, charities which provide funding for research into brain and spinal injury. At $24.95 a pop, this is a small donation to two important causes that make a big difference to the lives of people in our community.

Watching the Worlds!

One of the chapters in my PhD takes an in depth look at the experience of spectating, particularly in relation to mountain bike events. The experience of spectating at these events is pretty extraordinary as most of the people watching have a bodily appreciation of the skills and experience on display. This influences the motivation people yell from the sidelines, and the inspiration an audience feels after watching a talented rider make a technical hill look flat.

I’ve posted a few photos below that give a feel of audiencing, and the proximity of spectators to the action, at the World Mountain Bike and Trails Championships held in Canberra last week. What you can’t see is the noise, and the number of people that took off on their bikes during the event to hit up some other Canberra trails!