Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro

Riders head out for some sweet new single track on the east side of Alice Springs.

The mighty MacDonnell Ranges.

Start chute for the ITT in the Red Centre

Long grasses play havoc with bits that stick out

Spare spoke anyone? I may have ridden 77km with a slightly wobbly wheel.

Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro

Cyclecover Stage 6

The evening after the time trial was to be the night race and with the chance to cover the same track as Southern Cross Television Stage 5 it was going to be a potential mixed bag. The key was going to be a good start and everybody knew it, once we were in the single track passing opportunities were going to be limited, the countryside and trail being lit just by our mounted lights anything could be in the knee high grasses.
It was frantic from the get-go and the mass start even saw a couple of riders down in the dust just a few meters after the line Up ahead the leaders were launching into the darkness, the rest of us trying to sort out our best position before heading into the single-track. Once we were weaving through the bush it immediately turned to a conga-line of riders. There were two sides to this conga-line, first side was it was nice to drop a few heartbeats and ride at night with like minded individuals, like a night-ride with your mates. The other side was the race element and unfortunately not everyone was having fun.
A night ride is not without risks and I made my own mistakes, ending up in the rocky grass after losing my balance in a deep rut. This saw me straight to the back of the conga-line and saw a few mistakes by others. Jess Douglas may have attempted a passing maneuver through the grass, what I saw was a blue and white flash followed by a bike cart wheeling through the air, she was up in an instant and joined the conga-line somewhere behind me. We made our way through the flowing section, then it was onto the tougher half of the course. Around this time a couple more members of our line found themselves not rubber side down. With their bikes tangled and across the track I saw one rider being attended to but the other laying still amongst the grass. Riders were making their way around the incident but with the designated track being blocked I stopped to give a hand. Vital were checked of the still rider, bikes were moved and eventually my still rider stood up declared everything was back in place and that he was going to ride on. From here I joined another conga and we made our way safely back to the golf course, through the rough and rocky pinch climbs that are the feature of many trails around the area.

Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro

Southern Cross Television Stage 5

It was time again to go against the clock, Southern Cross Television Stage 5 was a time trial. Riders were spaced at 30 second intervals from the steady, to blistering fast, based on your overall time (General Classification) up to this point. Starting at the Alice Springs Golf Club the trail headed along cart trail before crossing onto rough double track. From there we would head down the road a little and onto single track, which flowed nicely. The lightly graveled trail wound around and over the rolling hills making the most of natural rock formations and scratchy shrubs that littered the area. It was exciting to chase the riders in front as you would occasionally grab a glimpse of them on the next rise. Then there was the pressure of the rides chasing, attempting to hold them off as long as possible. The second half of the course was a little more technical with pinching climbs and rocky descents. With riders spaced out there was plenty of room to make the most of this new trail and enjoy the great riding environment the Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro had to offer.
As for my ride I gave it one hundred percent and caught up to a couple of riders in front of me. But with plenty of quick and experienced riders starting just a couple of minutes behind I was caught in the later half of the course and they went on racing up the trail. When I reached the flat nearing the golf course I attempted to gain as much speed as possible with a time trail position and sprint to the line. With a lap time of one hour and four minutes I held steady in my category, not giving up any time but not making any either.

Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro

Riders including Chris from Vanuatu line up in preperation for the Hill Climb.

Midway up the climb.

The Southern Ranges make an increadable backdrop to the stage.

The Yeti in the Alice Springs natural surrounds, rocks, long grasses and undulating hills.

Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro

Northern Territory Major Events Stage 4

A new course was set for the longest stage of the week. It included some sections on the local streets as we headed out of town towards the rough 4wd tracks that litter the western side of Alice Springs. There was of course plenty of natural obstacles and great views of the local area. Local cinema owner and mountain biker Paul Darvodelsky had identified a loose rocky and steep pinch climb to lay down a $200 challenge. I was lucky enough to witness the a climb and superb effort by the rider who cleanly rode to the top. Gave it a go myself but ran out of traction well before the steepest section.
The trail lead us to one of the unusual features around Alice, the sealed bike path from Flynn's Grave to Simpsons Gap. In a group of three riders we swapped turns hauling the others along the winding path at close to max speed, all 17km. It was from here we turned onto a sealed road and had to contend with headwind and boredom of the flat, straight roads. The scenery was spectacular though as we passed through Honeymoon Gap in the Southern Range, the rich red rocks, cream sand and for the moment due to the recent rains greenery.
It was along this road section I saw some powerful riding by Jess Douglas who had ridden the last 20km solo and managed to make it back to the group of three I had been riding with. Not only did she catch up to us back but went straight to the front and did a fair stint all the way to the 50km water point. The four of us rode into the next section of trail which included dirt access roads through the firing range. We then turned and went along the side of an escarpment which was tough going due to the multitudes of loose rocky sections. The group was now starting to breakup as we then turned again and headed up onto the ridgeline, there were great views of the Southern Ranges but you could look for to long as the tough 4wd track that undulated along the top demanded maximum attention. Descending off the escarpment was wild with loose rocks and big ruts, even the days tops riders commented on the decent and the lack of good line choice. From there we headed back towards Alice, from the south, beside the rail line before we ultimately completed a lap of the local BMX track. As easy as it had seemed on paper it was a tough day made more difficult by the change to warmer weather, 3:24 for 77km.