Easter, never tasted so sweet

Easter Long Weekend is synonymous for stuff. No doubt you might be stuffed in a car, going somewhere or nowhere depending on traffic. Stuffed with copious amounts of chocolate, after the major supermarkets had isles dedicated to its sugary goodness. And if you are keen on a bit of mountain biking the Easter weekend offers plenty of time to get out and ride (,it also hosts the National Solo 24hr MTB Champs in Canberra). But with the backend of February washing out Round 1 of the Rocky Trail Shimano Grand Prix, race organisers had to slide it right, twice, landing it on the next available free day, Easter Monday. The call was then made, if you did the National Solo 24hr and backed up with a little Grand Prix the next day, you were made of sterner stuff.

A packed start line, host it and the will come.

With a good outing at the Willo Enduro a couple of weeks ago Quantum Racing’s Michal Kafka made the most of the perfect trail conditions to create a sizeable lead, 11 laps in just under the 7hr mark. Grant Webster placed second in the Male Elite Category and Roger Harrison rounded out the podium, both completing 11 laps, 7:23 and 7:30 respectively.

The female categories in the 7hr GP unfortunately didn’t host strong fields. Sarah Neumann put many of male counterparts to shame by completing 10 laps in 7:18. This would place her easily in the top 10 riders across the GP7.

Chris from Pedal 4 Pierce

The 4hr GP was the most popular race out of the two, with over 100 riders lining up at the start and going solo. It was speedster Kyle Ward who out gunned a very fast line-up in the Solo Elite category, albeit on the last lap. Kyle was almost joined at the hip with Dan McDonald for 6 of their 7 laps and would have made for great racing. Left in their wake but rounding out the podium was marathon expert Antony Shippard.

In the Elite female field the top 3 riders finished within 15 minutes of each other with Susanna Fasold’s consistency paying dividends, and in the final laps put close to five minutes between her and second place getter Emily Cunningham. Laura Renshaw completed 5 laps along with Susanna and Emily and placed third in the category.

Flowing singletrack

The story of the day must go to Super Master Peter Selkrig who battled and eventually placed second, in their age group to Garry James, at the National Solo 24hr Champs. All less than 24hrs prior to the start of the GP. Peter then joined the GP7 mid race and completed 6 laps, posted laps time that would have not only won the Super Masters category (again) had he started the event at the advertised time but quite possibly a top 5 in Elite as well. Peter we tip our hat to you, through traffic, sweet delights, a 24hr with a healthy slice of Rocky Trail’s Shimano Grand Prix, made of sterner stuff.

The overnight drizzle had event organiser Martin poking his head out of his tent every few hours to check wether it really "was" raining or just the tent amplifying the conditions. When I arrived in the morning the trail was in perfect nick and sufficiently tacky to grip in all the right places. The people's favourite trail was flickable fast fun. 

I had a great race riding with so many other having just as much fun as I was. Not sure if it was the caffeinated gel, choccie treats or the new zippy carbon wheels but the bike just wanted to accelerate to warp speed under me. Can't wait to put the new wheels and other little bits to further tests. 

The next GP is hosted by James Estate Winery, which should be an interesting combination. Thankfully James Estate has not only lovingly hand picked their finest grapes but hand crafted kilometres of singletrack through the naturally forested sections of the estate. Bring it on.