NSW Police & Emergency Services Games - XC

When one of my riding colleagues mentioned they wanted to compete at the Games, I was keen to join. These Games had been on and off the radar a few times due to clashes with other events but we had never managed to participate. This years event included a Cross Country (XC) race and a day of Gravity Enduro, first up was the XC.

This was our first time at Green Valleys MTB park and this was another attraction to this particular event. GV had a good name amongst the gravity crowd for its range of trails, features and shuttle back to the top. 

But first the XC event, and there were no shuttles, just pure climbing followed by a descent. We were joined by about 20 others for a one hour plus a lap format of race.

We jumped up onto the front row of the small crowd to get our best start into the singletrack. The race organisers had included a short grassy loop to filter the riders before we headed up the hill.

Our colleague got the jump on the start and we pulled into second wheel to push along the grassy section. It was pretty immediate to notice that our bunch of riders weren’t all pinners as we lead a strung out line onto the course.

We held second wheel for the majority of the climb. It was a fairly graded effort, a number of spots which pinched up and had you grabbing a couple of extra gears. The climb wound its way up a +50m vert hill and the graded efforts were connected by a series of switchbacks.

Nearing the top and before the descent we rode around to the front before the bike started to point down. The descent was fairly natural to start with, a series of dusty and blown-out corners from the The Block Party a week prior. We then skipped onto a more open section, jump a series of doubles and roll down to transition.

We almost took the extra grassy loop for a second time but got called back and they pointed us up the hill again. While climbing the switchbacks we could see my colleague had dropped back a little way and just behind him were a number of other riders.

Over the course of the next laps, only about 8-9minutes a lap, we caught a number of riders and passing through transition there was some joviality about slowing down for those behind us. 

Some of the on-course obstacles included a Butcher bird who took to buzzing the left side of your helmet if you rode alone. The bird was consistent and tapped your helmet over a number of trail sections.

Rolling through transition just before the hour mark we only had one rider left to lap, our colleague that lead us out at the start. He was a quarter of the way up the climb already so we spun up the hill after him. As we crested the hill there must have only been 10 or 20 seconds between us, we pushed the bike down the hill for a last time.

This hard push resulted in us overcooking a corner and coming down in the dust before we had left the forested descent. Back on the bike we rolled through the remaining course to finish our first Games event.

Thanks to the Games and the small team of event organisers for hosting. It was great to ride Green Valley too. We'll be sharing the images from this event on our Instagram and Facebook page when they become available.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

NIXCS Series Tamworth Round Finale

Hardy souls gather for NIXCS Tamworth. Photo: Ben Marsh

We woke to a pretty brisk morning for the final 2019 round of the NIXCS series. Multiple cold fronts had crossed the region delivery proper cold and windy weather. CrummyMTB HQ was a flurry of action to fit a quick visit to our local ice covered regions before getting back to Tamworth for the midday start of the race.

A number of committed enthusiasts trekked from Inverell, Armidale and the surrounding areas to take part. TAMMTB had set a fast and flowing course with only a hill and a half in the loop.

Photo: Ben Marsh

With a number of juniors recently peaking for the National Schools event, it was a cracking start and their pace was well maintained through the race. Nick Chisholm lead from the start followed closely by U15s shredder Eddie Willis, the rest of us, eating their dust and fighting for our place over the first couple of laps.

Photo: Ben Marsh

 It was a pleasant ride, when you were riding out of, or with the wind, the rest of the time we found our body, even after warming up, was in a state of shock. We had a good ride with the returning Brad Newman, who managed the sub-zero temperatures in just a jersey and knicks (Brett Bellchambers style).

Photo: Ben Marsh

Thanks to TAMMTB for putting on the event. You can check out our other NIXCS race this year here.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

WSMTB CX Round 1

A super fast launch for Open Bike to chase B Grade. Photo: Reynolds

WSMTB launch into the CX scene with Round 1 of their 2015 series held at the International Regatta Centre, Penrith. There was fun racing for the kids, then B Grade CX and Open Bike (mountain bike) which we competed in, followed by A Grade. It was a busy weekend for CX in Sydney with a "double-header", MWCC CX on Saturday and then WSMTB's CX on the Sunday. Plenty of room for more cowbell!

It takes a fair bit of work to pass through the twisty section of course. Photo: Reynolds

The course was basically around one of the small lakes followed by some corners, hurdles and mud. At 35mins of racing for Opens and B Grade you can ride on the limit for the whole time, in this instance it was about 10mins a lap for the front runners.

One of the mud pits. Photo: Reynolds

As our first real foray into CX we were pleased with our result, claiming a top 3 spot after a punishing 40mins of threshold HR. We rode our Pivot 429 Alloy, which was way to much bike but fun all the same. Setup remained standard for XC and endurance events, we might pick another bike for next time.
Fuel was provided by High5 Energy Source in the hour before the event.
See you at the next event!

WSMTB Club Championships

80 riders rolled up for WSMTB's Club Championships. The morning warmed up quickly and once "go" had be shouted the racing was red hot.
In A Grade the clubs Jr National Representatives were making it hard for their more senior competitors. I did't feel fast on the first lap as the remainder A Graders seemed to ride away. An additional climb in the course for the Champs made it extra tough, especially considering the days temperature. While I went on to ride within my comfort zone for the remainder of the race I made the most of the fast B Graders holding their wheels after they passed for the next section of trail. Placed 8th in A Grade for the Champs. 

Photo: Alan Dinham/Aus Ride Photo 

There was a good turn out from my team mates from JetBlack MTB Racing, Sara Mills went on to place second in the A Grade women after a fast start. Elton Judd, Team Manager, rode in B Grade, dropping his chain and quite possibly a place as a result, 8th. Ben Go rode mid pack in C Grade inching out Ian Butler, 6th and 7th respectively.
A big turn out for the team in the U13s too, with the Judds entering their first WSMTB race, both not to far off the race pace finishing in 8th. The Browns were under the watchful eye of mum while dad was in Canberra riding the ‪#‎Mont24‬, Candace 3rd and Charlotte 7th.

With the BBQ, cooked by the dedicated local RFS, and a cold drink included in the race entry fee everyone was a winner today.

Official results here.

Bryton Rider 30 Disassembly

After some recent wet weather and one of the rubber buttons on the Rider 30 wearing through, my Bryton started producing a strange sound and was working intermitantly. Additionally some of the glue had given way with the top cover able to be partially lifted. Given that the product is now out of warrenty and a quick search of the net didn't produce any disassembly instructions, it was time to see inside the Rider 30.

Because the cover had already given a little I used a wide flat bladed tool (butter knife) to prise the cover section. It looks as if the cover was attached using an adhesive along the ridge of the lower body section. This exposed the screen and a little rubber wedge (not shown in picture).

Flipping the screen out of the lower body section exposes the circuit board, three screws hold the circuit  board to the lower body, two on the lower and one on the right 3/4 of the way up (screws not shown). A small jewellers/electricians phillips screwdriver can remove the screws.

Finally flipping the circuit board, use care here as circuit boards shouldn't be directly handled, exposes the empty lower body section. On the backside of the circuit board you can see the battery and connector for your USB cable.

From here I removed all the moisture, removed small amounts of corrosion and gave the circuit board a clean with an evaporative product to leave no residue. I repaired the button using a malleable adhesive and plugged in the USB cable to see if the Bryton would work. Looks like the clean had done the trick. Take care in removing the USB cable at this point as the circuit board is not supported by the lower body section.
Putting the Rider 30 back together is just a reverse of the disassembly instructions, with the addition of applying some adhesive to the lower body section ridge before fitting the cover. Looks like this has worked in this case, good luck.