The UNE 12hrs at The Piney

With riders travelling from as far away as South East Queensland and the New South Wales South Coast the New England MTB Club (NEMTBC) must be doing something right. Jason English was back to defend his 2011 win and amongst the 150 or so riders entered there was plenty of plenty of MTB talent. But it wasn't all about the super fast few, for many, this was their first MTB event.

Rob Schrader from Singleton had organised a team of four and this was to be his first enduro event, in fact it was his first ever MTB event. For a team of new riders he was very pleased with their effort, dropping only two laps down to the more competitive teams in their category, "I cramped really bad after the 3rd lap and missed the night laps as I kept cramping every time I tried to pedal". Rob assured me that they had a great weekend, "even got to talk with Jason English as he passed me, that guy is a machine".

Racing between 10am to 10pm Saturday, there was plenty of time to set-up on Friday afternoon and to pack up on Sunday. Travelling all the way from QLD, Sean Bekkers from Ay-Up Racing Team said the enduro was well organised and the club had a great trail. NEMTBC had prepared many new sections of trail and the track was in good condition. It all started with fast flowing single track followed by a diversion through paddocks, across a creek and a climb to the technical stage. Smooth corners and lots of tree roots kept riders guessing, rocky ledge drops, shutes and roll-overs were then the order of the day and kept it technical. A series of bridges back over the creek and a fence, then it was a quick run back across the paddock to transition.

Sean confirmed there was a relaxed atmosphere and that he thought that it was an "unreal" event. The pine forest had been transformed with camping, catering, there was music and lots of bunting. From serious racing types to first timers, teams and even something for kids, it looks like everyone enjoyed their time in Armidale. I believe NEMTBC is already looking to next year and improving on this enduro.