Steve Sharp - SMC Spiritual Leader

The latest crew member to feature in our rider profiles is Steve Sharp who holds the honorary title of SMC Spiritual Leader and is also Alex's Dad. Steve has been riding motorbikes all his life and Mountain Bikes for nearly ten years. Steve knows his way around the local tracks better than most and keeps us entertained with his stories from the trail.

Uphill or downhill - Downhill with lots of corners.

Best day on a bike -  Every Sunday with mates. Well actually there was this one time at band camp. Umm can I mention the day both Sharps were on the podium at the 2009 Aus MTB marathon titles.

Currently riding - 2011 BMC 120MM SPEEDFOX I also have 2009 Specialized carbon epic (for sale), Avanti giro roady.

BMC good points - climbs well, is a great enduro distance bike, smashes downhills, looks awesome, did I mention looks awesome?

BMC bad points - still have to pedal, found out my boss in Melbourne owns the shop I got it from so I missed out on a bigger discount.

Carbon Epic good points -  super quick in tight single track. extra light, sort of your weight watchers dually.

Carbon Epic bad points - a little skittish down rock steps at night.

Is that a  "Giant" jersey you are wearing Steve?

Wash gloves or not -Bugger I think they might need a wash now, do love the feel of sliding hand into crunchy stiff gloves though for that extra grip.

Favorite trail - Woodend dam track, alpine assault track across the Bogong high plains followed by 30km decent (yep thats right 30km screaming downhill). Nerang State Forest back of the Gold Coast, Daisy Hill near Brisbane.

Broken Bones - Tradition in our family is to break collarbones. Alexander is a third generation collarbone breaker. Others I have abused include ribs multiple times, foot (both), fractured skull, nose, cheekbone, teeth do they count? Rotor socket on shoulder, multiple severe laceration requiring stitches, dislocated knee. That's all I can think of right now, oh almost forgot knocked out for hours with severe concusion requiring overnight hospital stay, hahaha that should do it.

Most useful tip -  Ride as smoothly as possible and the speed will come on its own.

Dream ride location - Rotorua NZ.

Most important Camelback item - Mobile phone.

Favorite lube - RocknRoll gold.

A pair of Foxes

Mel is in da house!

Last Sunday's outing incorporated a great ride through the bush around Kangaroo Flat and an SMC house warming party for Mel who moved into her new palace a few weeks ago. Mel was given the honor of being the lead rider as well as taking care of baking duties. It was a mixture of old friends, family and some new riding companions that took off for Mel's magical mystery tour.

First off we headed to Specimen Hill where old and new exist together. You have old mine diggings going underground on one side of the track and the latest mobile phone tower technology rising high into the sky on the other side. Unfortunately for yours truly the tower is secured by a  barbed wire fence and as I rode past a stray strand of wire grabbed my handle bars twisting them around the wrong way resulting in me ending up laying on the ground. Apart from some cool looking cuts and a bit of blood there was no real damage except to my pride and we continued on.

Where is Alexander when you need him?

The only other incident for the day was Trevor's jammed chain which managed to secure itself between the Granny ring and the bottom bracket. After a lot of huffing and puffing, the removal of the rear wheel, changing of the gears and a little bit of swearing the chain was back in its rightful place.

Mel's chosen track was a beauty with some nice flowing downhills, plenty of rocks and a testing climb to get the heart pumping a bit harder. It's a great network of trails in between Crusoe Road and Lockwood Road but you definitely need an experienced guide to show you the way around. Mel had no problems finding her way and the only time we got lost was when she asked me to lead the way back to Olympic Parade. A turn right 100 metres before the correct track had us doing a nice little loop around the water race but everyone took it in their stride and before too long we were back at Mel's.

Where's Mel?

Mel must have been up early to get all the baking done. There was a great spread including chocolate cake, chocolate biscuits and great tasting potato and cheese scones (with vegemite) that disappeared too fast to get a picture of. The pressure is really on Spencer's now to lift their game or they run the risk us calling in at Mel's after every ride. Thanks for the great ride Mel and enjoy your new home!

Here she is.

The JNR Sharp from NJR

After posting our interview with new SMC member Greg there were a few requests from other riders wanting to share their story. It's always good to hear from the younger generation so this time it's Alex's turn. Alex is the son of SMC's spiritual leader Steve. He has all of his dad's flair on the bike jammed inside a 19 year olds body so it's very enjoyable to ride behind him as he takes every opportunity to get some air. He is also studying to be a paramedic which makes us older riders feel safer knowing that emergency first aid is never far away.

Uphill or Downhill - Downhill, but you must go up to go down, so uphill is worth it.

Best day on a bike - Probably any time at Mt Buller, riding big trails on big bikes, and you get a chairlift.

I'm currently riding...

2009 Specialized stump jumper

Good points: playful and light!

Bad points: struggles uphill compared to the old hard tail.

This riding gear is not SMC approved

2012 Kona Operator

Good points: quiet, light. Pedals like an xc bike.

Bad points: that it's rider needs to pull his head in and stop crashing!


Wash gloves or go for the extra grip of sweat and dirt - Wash before races (superstition). dirt and sweat all other times.

Favourite trails - Mt Tarrengower race track, international- Mt Buller, Redesdale 24 hour

Broken bones - 2 (collarbone and hand)

Most useful tip you have been given - When in doubt go flat out

Dream ride location - Mont Saint Anne

Most important item in backpack - Steri strips

Favorite lube – KY

(I knew one of the crew would say that, most likely Tony, but Alex beat him to it!)

Let me introduce you to........

Greg Taylor is the newest member of the Sunday Morning Crew. A keen road rider who gave up cycling for golf Greg has recently got back on the bike and has taken to the dirt to get closer to nature.

Greg kindly agreed to answer a few questions for us so we could get to know him a bit better.



Loving that single track

 Prefer going Uphill or Downhill - It sounds perverse but I prefer Uphill, it also hurts less when I fall off

Best day on a bike -
Had lots of good days on a bike but the most recent at the Wombat is right
up there even though it didn't involve winning anything

I'm currently riding...
Specialized Epic Comp 29er
Good points: The dual suspension and the Big Wheels
Bad points: 26 inch riders hanging it on my Big Wheels

Wash gloves or go for the extra grip of sweat and dirt - Definitely a washer (too much of a roadie)

Favourite trails - Latest favourite is Redesdale 24Hr track

Broken bones - None (touch wood)

Most useful tip you have been given - Look where you want to go not where you don't

Dream ride location - Don't know, not a fan of the cold so somewhere warmer than Bendigo in
winter, perhaps Maui.

Most important item in camelbak - Mobile for when I get lost




Favorite lube - Squirt

The happiest man on the planet

Mountain biking brings a lot of joy to people from all walks of life in countries far and wide. The ability to forget about the worries of the world and focus on which line to take whilst embracing whatever the elements have to throw at you can at times put you "in the zone". Exactly what "in the zone" means varies from person to person. It can relate to your bike and being able to ride a hazard that you have always walked before, it can relate to the mind and thinking of nothing other than the track ahead or it can relate to your spirit and being in a place where you love life and want for nothing more.

Yesterday I went riding with a man that was "in the zone". He was on a new bike, with a new camelbak and he was starting a new job the next day. He was riding under a beautiful blue sky sharing the track with only one other human being and some kangaroos and he was happy.

What else could he ask for? Well how about getting married a week earlier to his soulmate on an exotic island in the middle of the pacific. Life doesnt get any better eh Bro?

New Camelbak

New bike

New wife

Happiest man on the planet!

Fox on the Run

A couple of crew members have denied the trend of 29er bikes and purchased themselves a shiny new
26 inch BMC Street Fox each.

First reports are that its a case of true love for Steve and Tony even if Tony is having a little bit of trouble staying upright on his. Steve would also like it known that he got his first! If anyone is in the market for a slightly used Epic or Anthem give the guys a call.

Acouple of silver foxes with their street foxes

The 3 Hills Challenge

Most roadies would have heard of the 3 Peaks challenge which entails a lot of climbing over a 235km course that takes in Tawonga Gap, Mount Hotham and Falls Creek. Well Phillip and I decided to do a Mountain Bike version on Boxing day and we called it the 3 Hills Challenge. It started out with a desire to do a longer km ride to help with our training for the Otway Odyssey in February and it doubled as a way to get rid of a few Christmas lunch calories (too much pav and trifle, hang on there's no such thing as too much pav and trifle). As we thought about the different routes we could take we came up with the idea of doing a lap of the echnida trail which encircles Bendigo. The full loop is about 65kms which we thought would be a good workout when you include the climb up One Tree Hill around the 40km mark. The other two hills are Lightning Hill in Eaglehawk and Diamond Hill near Kangaroo Flat.

Not being sure how long the ride would take we decided on an 8am start. Our starting point was at the top of Specimen Hill Road so we acutally had four hills not three.

Our starting point. Although it's Christmas we didnt quite make it to Bethlehem.

The first part of the ride is pretty flat fire road through West Bendigo and it takes you through the areas hit hardest by the 2009 fires and brings you out near the Eaglehawk Golf Club. From there its past the Tip Top Bakery which always smells great before heading back into the bush towards Woodvale before turning back to arrive at Lightning Hill. Unfortunately the lookout has seen better days and the stairs to get up onto the man made structure have been removed. Probably due to an OHS ruling by the local council. The view of the forest surrounding Bendigo is still good though and would be even better if we could just cut down a few of the trees blocking the view.



Someone has removed the stairs so you can't actually get on the Lookout!

 From Lightning Hill we headed into the Whipstick before making a turn back towards Epsom and a quick run on the Linear Creek path before picking up the O'Keefe rail trail for a short while before crossing the McIvor Highway and picking up more fire road which brought us out on the Eppalock road. Once we crossed this road it was on to Heartbreak Hill (that's five) and the climb up One Tree Hill. We had been going for about 2 and a half hours now so we took a quick rest at the top before heading off on the fun descent towards the One Tree Hill Pub.

The fire lookout on top of One Tree Hill.

After a quick run up the singletrack beside the Spring Gully Reservoir we made it to Diamond Hill. I'm not sure if there were any diamonds found here but there are plenty of old gold diggings in the area.

This is a lot steeper than it looks and is not the usual way up to the Diamond Hill Lookout

 We rode on through some more old diggings before heading into Kangaroo Flat and a short burst amongst the holiday traffic before heading back into the bush near the Crusoe Reservoir and onto Maiden Gully. After some more fire road riding we made it through to Rocky Rises Road and although there were no more hills we did manage to ride over a large knob thanks to some local graffiti artists.

Next stop was Olympic Parade and we had just about completed our loop. By the time we had added in a few little detours we had clocked up just over 70kms in just under 4 hours. We had been on pretty much every road surface you can think off from singletrack through to four lane highway. All in all it was a good way to rack up a large amount of kms in a short time and still be in the bush for most of it.

Phil in front of the different trail markers we followed. 

Everything old is new again

Well they aren't quite as historic or significant as the Inca trails in South America but Steve and I were still quite excited with our discovery of some lost single track on our ride on Sunday morning.

We didn't need much convincing to have an adventure ride rather than a serious training ride today so we decided to take a detour off our normal One Tree Hill trails to explore a bit further into Mandurang. Steve had ridden this area many years ago on trails cut in by some locals and had a general knowledge of how it all linked up. We picked up the first sign of the trail where Steve recalled but it wasnt long before we were backtracking around to find the right path to follow. This become the pattern of the day as well as doing a lot log hopping and listening and watching for sticks in derailleurs. Suprisingly this didnt become a chore and in the grand scheme of things was quite enjoyable.

The trails are still visible if you look hard

The trails in general were slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature but there were enough clues left to let us stay on the right path most of the time. Even with our stop start riding we could see why someone had gone to the trouble of making these tracks. The country is perfect for riding. Short climbs, a few technical rocky bits all topped off by some sweet single trail decents. The best thing of all is that due to our great navigational skills (read good luck) we managed to join all these tracks up into a complete loop which was an unexpected bonus.


You have to love the bush around Bendigo

 We have been inspired to spend a bit of time showing these old trials some TLC to bring them back to their former glory. So if you see some bike riders on the road carrying rakes and shovels feel free to give us a hand.

You Yangs Yowie!!(oohh that hurt)

Ever since Mel got back into mountain biking and came riding with the SMC she has been going on about how good the tracks are at the You Yangs. A couple of months ago it all got too much for me and I agreed to enter the You Yangs Yowie with her. This event is hosted by the Geelong Mountain Bike Club and is held in the You Yangs National Park between Melbourne and Geelong.

First of all let me say this race was by the far the most enjoyable ride I have ever had on a mountain bike. The track was split into thirds, first some dirt roads, next some hilly and rocky sections finished off by a sensational section through a forest.The first part along a dirt road on the edge of the park was pretty flat at first and the group was going at a fast pace straight off. Then the road headed upwards with a pretty steep climb which was followed by a high speed descent on a nice smooth bit of road.

Then the single track started and first impressions were that the surface was a bit sandy and slippery but it soon improved. It was in this section on my first lap that I came across a rider fixing a flat. I asked if he was ok and the guy said no he wasnt. It turned out he had borrowed a set of Mavic wheels of a mate and they were set up tubeless. He had managed to roll the tyre off the rim and used up his air cannisters to no avail trying to reinflate the tyre. Running tubeless he hadnt bothered to carry a pump so that's where I came in. 

After I got going again the track opened up a bit and I could see a nasty little climb in front of me taking me into what is called the Boulder Track. As it turns out this piece of track is well named. You are basically riding on giant boulders, as well as off them and through them. It's amazing how it all links together and there has been an amazing amount of work done to repair these tracks after the floods last year. There are also wooden berms and rock faces to ride as well as some impressive rock gardens which makes this whole section pretty intense.

Having never ridden the You Yangs before I had no idea where the track was going so I was pretty cautious on some sections where as it turned out I didnt need to be. But maybe going a bit slower saved me from any major incidents.

Luckily I made it safely through the rocks and found my way onto the best flowing single track I have ever ridden. The track looked flat but as you were riding it there was a feeling of being on a slight downhill gradient which made you want to go faster. The even better thing was that the corners flowed into each other and the surface encouraged you to lean over a little bit further to hold your pace without braking. It was the perfect way to end the lap.

Unfortunatley Mel found out the dangers of the Yowie when she came to grief on one of the rock gardens. I found out she had crashed when I saw her sitting in the finish area after my first lap. Lucky for her another Bendigo rider who was a nurse helped Mel with some first aid and got her to the St John's Ambulance for some further care. The guys dressed her arm and gave her a lift back to the finish area. Mel told me she had cut her arm but as the picture shows it looks like someone has used a melon baller to scoop out her elbow!


Those You Yangs rocks are evil!

After checking the Mel was OK I headed out on my second lap. Although I managed to stay upright all the way around I did endure some pain of my own due to some intense cramps. I drank as much as I could to try and ease them and keep the thought of the flowing track that lay ahead of me in mind as I battled to get through the hilly boulder section.

I managed to make it through and complete the 66km which is my longest race and second only to the Castlemaine to Bendigo ride I did a few years back as far as total distance ridden goes. It was a weird combination, the best track I have ever ridden and the worst cramps I have ever had.

After the race I caught up with Mel who said her arm was really sore so calling on my vast medical experience I prescribed  2 Nurofen and a can of Jack Daniels. That did the trick and took the edge off the pain until we got to Bendigo. After 6 hours at casualty Mel's arm was nicely patched by a good looking doctor who rode bikes. What more could you ask for? Well no infection would be one thing.

Unfortunately the healing process is taking a bit longer than Mel would like. She also ended up with a very impressive bruise on her leg. Get well soon Mel and let's make sure we take the whole SMC to the You Yangs next time.

SMC meets SSS

It was the biggest Sunday Morning Crew ride ever on Sunday as we played host to a dozen riders from the Secret Singletrack Society (SSS) from Melbourne.

We always thought we were very lucky to have a vast network of trails on our doorstep and it was good to be able to share them with some like minded riders from out of town.

The weather was looking a bit dodgy at the start and a brief shower of rain passed through just as we were getting ready to depart but there was no need to worry as there was no more rain and the trails were in excellent condition.


The plan for the day was take in as much single track as we could and stay off the bitumen as much as possible and I think we achieved both goals. SMC spiritual leader Steve was our trail guide for the day and he did a great job setting a steady pace and keeping the large group together. It's always a pleasure to follow Steve on the bike and try to learn from the effortless way he flows along the trail.



Steve in Action

 The ride went smoothly and there were no offs and the only mechanicals were one flat tyre and a loose crank (both on Jerry the mechanic's bike but in his defence he only finished building the bike the day before).




Some of the SSS Crew


After the ride we headed for the National for some well earned food. A few brave souls took on the Bulldog Burger (named after the local footy team ) and as it turned out the only person who couldnt finish it was our local SMC member Tony who used to play for the Bulldogs.

We ended up covering a neat 30kms and every one had a smile on their face after a great day out riding. The SSS were a friendly bunch and we would be happy to have them back any time. Even the single speed guys seemed pretty normal except when it came to ordering drinks. I'm still not quite sure what was in the "cocktail of the week" but it must have been ok because one wasn't enough.

Every one is looking happy at the half way mark

Fat Tyres in France

There are worse things in life than having to go to England for a wedding but it did mean that I would be off my Mountain Bike for a couple of weeks. So I was keen to do any type of riding I could while I was away. We had a 3 day stop over in Paris before the wedding and as it turned out a company called Fat Tire Bike Tours offered guided bike rides that took in some of the main tourist attractions which sounded like fun. At least the bikes had fat tyres to remind me of mountian biking.

The tour was for four hours and we ended up in a group of 19 people who were mainly Australians with a few Americans thrown in for good measure. The company that runs the tours is from America and the tour guides are usually American or Australian as well.

No helmet required, comfy bike with 3 gears

There was no checking of bike riding ability and as we were in Europe no helmets were required. We did get a 5 minute safety talk which was based around "safety in numbers" and if we all stuck together the cars would let us through or at least that was the plan.

We headed off through some quiet back streets and then into a park before arriving at the Eiffel Tower. We stopped regularly at other famous spots like the Louvre, Napoleon's Tomb and the Place de la Concorde. This last one is in the middle of a very busy intersection, it's not quite as bad as the round about at the Arc de Triomphe but still full on for a group of riders who most recent time on a bike would have been when they were at school.

Napoleon's Tomb

Next stop was a World Heritage listed park with a lovely cafe amongst the trees which was our rest stop. Unfortunately because of the heritage listing bike riding wasnt allowed in the park. You can walk your bike through the park but you cant ride it, not sure what the sense is in that.

Hike a bike

After we left the park it was time for quick toilet stop, well as long as you had the cash handy to pay for the privilege but at least you got to listen to disco music while you were busy.

We headed for home and maybe some of the inexperienced riders were getting tired but we had one funny incident and very nearly a serious accident on the way back to the bike shop. First of all a young lady riding in front of me managed to T-Bone a cycle rickshaw. It was hilarious to watch as she tried to brake but didnt slow down and after almost ending up in the rickshaw with the driver she copped a mouthful of abuse for not looking where she was going.

Luckily we were now on a cycle path so we thought nothing else would happen but there was one last turn needed across a lane of traffic. The first 10 or so riders made it safely across but there was a bus approaching who had right of way and didnt look like stopping for a bunch of tourists on bikes. A couple of riders took our guide's advice that the cars would stop for us a bit too literally and basically played chicken with the bus. Just when it looked like Fat Bike Tours may have its first fatality the bus driver hit the brakes and all of our group made it through safely.

Overall it was a great way to see the city and I got my fix of riding to get me through the rest of the trip.

Father's Day 2011

Well the first Sunday in September is Father's day and although there were two new bikes being shown off by crew members the poor old Dad's missed out this year. It was Son of Steve,  Alexander and  newly sponsored Giant rider Mel who are the proud new parents of a Specialized Stumpjumper and a Giant XTC0 29er respectively.

Alexander is giving the Scott hardtail a rest and joining the dually club while Mel has gone the other way going back to a hardtail as well as becoming the first member of SMC to join the dark side and ride a 29er. We met at Steve's before heading out and after a quick inspection of the new bikes its was off to Murray's track to put them through their paces.

Mel recently won the Giant Real Riders competition and her prize was a brand new bike and some riding gear.  Seeing Mel was the only rider on a 29er Brett enquired if Giant had supplied Mel with any spare 29er tubes. Although the answer was no Mel wasnt worried because "she never gets punctures"and anyhow dont sponsored riders have pit crew to change flat tyres?

We headed out our familiar trails and wouldnt you know it within 20 minutes Mel had pulled over to the side of the track with a very flat front tyre. Luckily Gareth came good with a repair kit and although not on the Giant payroll the rest of the crew pitched in to help get Mel back on the road.




Mel looking worried that Giant will yell out her for breaking her new bike



It was a great day for riding and hopefully a promise of what the rest of Spring has to offer. The guys on the new bikes were flying especially after Brett gave Alex's gears and Mel's front brake a tweak even if it did mean Brett had to break his vow of never working on a 29er. 



Alex on the new Stumpjumper



Mel looking happier with air in her tyres

Steve showing there's still life in the old Specialized







Castlemaine 6 Hour Enduro

It was a very depleted Sunday Morning Crew that turned up at Castlemaine for the Jubberland 6 Hour Enduro. This is one of the best events of the year and while initially it looked like there would be crew members featuring in many different categories a few injuries, an operation, a nasty training incident and an overseas trip meant that our numbers ended up being lower than we hoped.

Tony started the exodus with a diagnosis of a torn ligament in his knee. I guess that's always a chance when you are 6ft 6 tall and play footy for 20 years. Phil had his tonsils out and was still in recovery mode, Rod hid in Trish's suitcase when she flew off to attend a work conference in Sri Lanka but worst of all Roz did a superman over the bars and managed to bruise every muscle in the right side of her body. She was in hot form prior to the accident with the NJR team already preparing their victory speech. The Sharp Boys were so devastated they withdrew the whole team after Cousin Geoff refused a last minute request to don a skirt and fill in.

The crew members who did ride enjoyed a great day with the track in excellent condition and no incidents to speak of.

We hope Roz, Tony and Phil recover quickly so next year we can be back bigger and stronger.

Roz electrifying at Kettle Park

The latest round of the Bendigo Mountain Bike Club winter series was at held at the first time venue known as Kettle Park. Local bike enthusiast Max Kettle has spent many hours toiling on his 20 acre property to create a unique riding experience. Its a total single track layout that has your mind and legs engaged the entire way around each 6km lap. A number of techincally challenging hazards more than make up for any lack of climbing and high speed sections. Ever tried a 27ft long barrel ride, how about a rock garden with its own berm or a single plank crossing of a creek bed? There's even an A Frame fence crossing and a 10 metre see-saw however they were off limits for the club race just to make sure that all the club members made it home safely.

Quite a few SMC members made it out to Kettle Park for the race and the ride of the day was put together by Roz Bradley who put her love of tight twisting track to good use coming in second overall for the day. Tony, Jake and me finished close together with a fast finishing Jake just failing to overtake Tony in the last 50 metres.

Jake getting some air!

A few SMC regulars were out injured on the day, Phil was suffering from a groin problem but still managed to fulfill his handicapping duties (watch out Roz), Steve a bad back and Mel was unwell ( self inflicted was the word from the track) and Brett was on photography duties but we havent seen any photos yet! The only ones available so far are from the $68 special that doesnt like moving subjects.


Tony chasing scaring a small child



All in all it was a great day and everyone cant wait till next year's Kettle Park event.

Bendigo 6 Hr Enduro

What a difference a day makes!



The day before the event was warm and sunny. It was the type of Autumn day that Bendigo is famous for.The track was being marked out and the marquees being erected. The track had been given a make over and everything looked set for a picture perfect enduro.

It was actually dry for the start with the guys looking resplendent in their SMC jerseys

Fast forward 24 hours and the track had turned into a bit of a quagmire and riders and bikes looked they had been dunked in a geyser. How do you make so much mud? Its easy just add water to dirt.

The view from our marquee up pit straight



Despite the rain there were still plenty of smiles on people's faces and the race can't really be descibed any better than these words from our youngest SMC member Alex who summed it up as follows

 "Bendigo 6 hour enduro was rad! Ridiculous mud, multiple crashes, took out a tree, team got second and medal has a bottle opener... Happy happy!"





What more could a mountain biker ask for. It was great to see the SMC mixed triples team racing under the NJR banner back in their rightful position on the podium. A great team effort from Alex, Steve and Roz saw them come home in 2nd place.

The NJR team with their winnings



All the other crew members who road the race should be pleased with their efforts under tough conditions. Brett, Roz and Mel are backing up at Forrest next weekend and we wish them all the best. Roz could be unveiling her new all carbon ride so expectations are high.

Tony and Bryan on their mud machines

For the rest of us there's a local club ride to keep us entertained. Its back at the 6 Hour track and if the weather stays dry we will get to see what we missed out on the week before.









What a find!

There is a saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure and that was surely the case for me recently. As I walked out of my garage my attention was drawn to the trailer on my neighbour's front lawn which appeared to be full of rubbish destined for the tip. However somthing caught my gaze and my heart skipped a beat. Was that a bike rack in the trailer? A closer inspection revealed two seperate bike racks each able to hold 3 bikes. They were very rusty but otherwise in good condition. My neighbour wasnt home so I had to endure a nervous wait for him to return before I could ask him if I could take them off his hands.

He was more than happy to hand them over and told me they had been hand made by his brother but he no longer had any room for them. I rewarded his generosity with half a dozen stubbies and carried my prize home.

Eager to try them out I gave them a quick rubdown with sand paper and inserted three of my bikes into one of the units.

All that is needed now is some sandblasting and powdercoating and they will straight inside to the bike room!

On the roadie to recovery

After a very nasty face plant incident its good to know that the SMC spiritual leader is back on his bike (even if it is a roadie). A night ride at Salomon's Gully ended prematurely when Steve took the wrong line down the a set of steps. Luckily Tony, Geoff and Alexander were on hand to administer some love and affection and search for Steve's missing teeth.

Steve's looking forward to the end of his soup only diet and hopes to be in peak fitness for the upcoming Bendigo 6 Hour (will there be a father and son pairs entry?).

Get well soon Steve, we cant wait to see you out on your recently pimped Specialized.


It only hurts when I smile



Woodend Pinies

Not much happens on Good Friday so it was off to Woodend to ride the Pinies for the Sharp boys, their cousin Geoff and me. Steve and I had loved the Pinies section of track used for "The Duael" so we took advantage of the Easter break to pay it another visit. Cousin Geoff was visiting from Queensland and had brought his Trek dually along with him as he was keen to experience some more of the great tracks we have in Victoria.

Geoff showing off his QLD riding boots

Now when we had raced "The Duael" it was cold and windy but there was no rain and the track was near to perfect. Unfortunately Woodend has had a bit of rain in the past week and the track is a whole lot different to ride in the wet. Due to the undulating nature of the singletrack there are lots of depressions to fill with water and quite a few wet and slippery tree roots. Now all this didnt slow Alexander down (especially when I loaned him the Felt for a lap) but it did throw Steve and I out a bit as all our "fast" lines were redundant. However we managed to safely negotiate our way around and still have fun.
We resisted the urge to sample any of the many magic mushrooms that were growing throughout the forest however there were a few enlightened people collecting them for "medicinal" purposes. As we came out of the forest we came across two other MTBers getting ready for a ride. They looked a little bit different to your average rider but we couldnt put our finger on what it was until we checked out their rides, they were riding 29er single speeds. We wished them luck and decided to explore one new bit of track before heading for home.
The new route headed us back towards the old highway and started off with a nice downhill. We noticed an old jump with the ramp facing the other way and worked out we were riding the track the wrong way but we carried on regardless showing true MTB spirit. A bit further along Alexander spied some old elevated track so we dismounted to do some exploring. It appears that many years ago someone had gone to a fair bit of trouble to build some wooden rails off the ground. Sadly it has fallen in to a sorry state of repair and although we offered to lift Alexander and his bike up on to it to see how sturdy it was he declined our offer.
We went back to our bikes and rode the rest of the track that brought us out on to the side of the highway. There was only one thing to do and that was to ride the track the right way. This was a much more enjoyable way to go and before long we were back at the cars with four very muddy bikes and riders.
As we were loading our bikes back onto the cars Geoff and I noticed some dark clouds coming in so we picked up the speed and loaded everything on as quick as we could and took refuge in the car. However the Sharp boys hadn't noticed what was coming and had spent some considerable time changing into their street gear before packing everything up. It was about then the rain started and the boys got a little wet. Geoff and I tried not to laugh too much in case they saw us but we did manage to sneak a little picture for you.



Looks a bit wet out there!

 After that it was off to the Woodend cafe for a healthy lunch of fish, potato cakes and chicko rolls. Steve assured us that there was no real meat in Chicko Rolls (invented in Bendigo) so we werent acutally breaking any religious traditions.

Nemesis Marathon Challenge

If you have spoken to anyone who rode the 2010 Nemesis Marathon you would know that there weren't a lot of kind things being said about the race. The common theme was that some of the track was just not fun to ride and there was too much walking up hills. Despite knowing this Mel and I decided to take on the 45km challenge held at the Mount Avoca track.
It was an early start as we left Bendigo at 6am to make sure we made rego by 7.45am in time for an 8 am race start so the bikes were loaded the night before. We took the Suby with the bikes on the back of the car and not on the roof to make sure that Mel's bike made it safely to and from the race. It was a chilly morning but luckily the sun had made it out by the time we made it to the Mount Avoca winery which was the start/finish area of the race. I didnt realise it at the time but the fact that I missed the turn off into the parking area was a bit of an omen for my navigating skills for the rest of the day.
The volunteer handed me number 151 and told me it was a Palindrome. I said a what and she told me that's what you call a word or number that reads the same in either direction. I had to look it up on the computer to see how to spell it but there you go, its true what they say, you learn something new everyday.
Despite the brilliant blue sky I must admit it was a bit chilly waiting for the race to start. I only had my jersey and my armies to keep me warm but Mel had her lovely Giant jacket. I told her she would warm up quickly and wouldnt need it but she insisted on wearing it. I think she could have taken it off after a km or two but she kept it on until just before the top of the first climb when she had to admit defeat and stuff it in her backpack.
The first climb was a long one but at a good gradient. It was about 7 kms up a dirt road towards Governor Rock lookout. We kept up a steady pace and held our place on the road until the stop to get rid of Mel's jacket. After reaching the top of the climb the race got a bit more serious. There was a nice down hill run followed by a short uphill and then we entered some more technical down hill sections. It was on this section I managed to place my front wheel into a rut and remove myself from my bike. Steve's new friend from "The Duael" rode past me as I was remounting and then managed to perform a more spectacular dismount about 100m down the track. Luckily that was it for crashes for the day and we had no punctures or mechanicals of any kind (although I did give the powerlink I bought the day before to a guy who had a broken chain).
After a slight detour the wrong way up a road we made it to the first feed station feeling pretty good. I managed to resist the tempting donuts and muffins and had a gel pack instead and we headed off again. This section of trail contained a very tricky downhill (appararently made worse by a group of horse riders who went through the day before). Quite a few people walked this section including Mel and I and you needed the brakes on to keep control of your bike on the loose surface. As the track flattended out we knew that meant that we had to climb back out of the valley we were in. And climb we did, it was hard work and there was a fair bit of walking involved. I think we must have got off and on our bikes a hundred times.
There has been a lot of effort made to build the new single track that switch backs it way up the hill. We crossed the fire road that was used to climb out last year and that thing just goes straight up so full credit to the guys doing the work on the course. Towards the end of the climb we got back on last years fire road which had levelled out a bit and Mel took over the lead and paced me beautifully through to the second feed station at the top of Mount Avoca.  You know you are at the pointy end of the mountains when there is a trig point next to the feed station. The volunteers warned us of another nasty climb ahead that no one rides and reminded us to take care on the descent as they had to get the helicopter in to get one guy out last year.
We had 18kms to go and after some gentle up and down dirt roads it was on to the three sisters and the volunteers werent joiking about no one riding them. The first two were bad and then came the ugly sister and boy was she ugly. It was steep and rough and hard enough to even walk up but we made it in the end passing a guy along the way who had suffered 5 punctures along the track and was forced to walk his 29er all the way to the end.
Next came the descent back to the bottom. Now some descents are flowing and fun like in the Otway Odyssey but this one was almost as challenging as some of the climbing. It was very steep on a rough fire road with water bars every 100 meters or so. At the race briefing they warned us several times that the water bars were not jumps and I can see why. As soon as you were off the brakes you picked up speed at an alarming rate so it was back on the brakes trying your best to the stick to the single track line that had been worn onto the fire road. It was an all over body work out with no sitting down and forearms pumping to keep the brakes engaged. Once again Mel and I survived and made it safely to the bottom and out into the pleasant countryside where we started. After a quick detour onto some more single track we arrived back into the vineyards and the finish line was in site.
I think we made our best decison of the day in the car on the way over when we agreed to ride the race together. There was only 170 riders in 4 different race distances and the field was pretty spread out from early on. It would have only made a tough course much harder if you were riding it in isolation.
It had been a tough ride but the weather had been perfect for riding and the countryside was spectacular which made the event very enjoyable and I am already looking forward to next year's event.

This is the link to the results and photos from the day
http://www.bighillevents.com.au/Avoca/home.html

Crazy 6 Cancelled

As most of you will know this event was rescheduled from February to the 30th April due to bad weather and damage to the park. At the time the decision was made, all the information available to GMBC & Parks Victoria led us to believe that the You Yangs would be open in time for the event and everyone was looking forward to it.


Since this time there have been further hold-ups, well out of the control of GMBC and Parks Victoria and asbestos removal works have still not commenced in the park, keeping it closed to all public use.

With this in mind GMBC has had to make the regrettable decision to cancel the Crazy 6 for 2011.

So our ride calendar is looking pretty empty at the moment. The good news is that the Bendigo MTB Club has a winter series planned so keep an eye out for that.