Chifley Alice Springs Resort Stage 7
The last day of the Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro and the last stage. It was looking to be one of the best stages too, after a quick burst around town we would be revisiting quite a few sections of single track used earlier in the week, albeit in reverse, connected by rough 4wd tracks. All finishing on the grass at the Telegraph Station Historical Reserve beside the Todd River where began the journey on Monday.
With the lingering thoughts of Travis Johannsen and many other cyclists who are no longer with us we launched out of the Chifley Alice Springs Resort and onto the short street circuit crossing the Todd twice. The circuit spaced out most of the riders before we headed into the narrower sections of trail then onto the rocky single track. Some of the most fun and challenging trails had been picked with sweeping gravel sections, tight rock-strewn switchbacks and technical pinch climbs. We then crossed onto a tough 4wd track on which we had descended on Monday to link up the second half of single-track. I enjoyed a seamless ride, mixing it up with a few riders, we made the most of the open flowing trail. The technical rocky sections were fun to attack at my own pace before moving away from the undulating country and down to the sandy flats alongside the Todd. The final turns lead to the sandy Todd riverbed, having ridden all the sections on this stage this last deep sand wasn't going to get me off the bike. I could hear the crowd on the other side of the river, didn't let myself get bogged down, crossed the sand to grass reserve and through the final stage finish arch. It was time to tuck into the freshly cut fruit and relax on the grass to watch many of the other competitors complete their own Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro
Loads of different tracks litter the sandy trails 
More ITT action early on
You want to ride where? Alright, just to the Todd Mall.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.
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.
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.
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