Jacks Ridge XXX

Photo: Forestry Corporation NSW

We don't get to Jacks Ridge often enough. Growing up on the Mid North Coast of NSW the Macksville/Nambucca area is pretty familiar even some twenty years later and we always find it a bonus when we can get back to the area for a ride. Previous visits have included social rides with the NVCC crew (Youtube) and some night racing with the Dusk till Dawn (2015).

This time we returned to Jacks Ridge with team mates Nathan (from Port Macquarie) and Browny (from Sydney), who where teaming up to race pairs for this event.  The Nambucca Cycling crew had a great little hub going with a BBQ, coffee van and a loose horse creating the atmosphere. Riders from across NSW had come to ride these delightful trails, crews included those from Taree and Armidale.

Photo: Forestry Corporation NSW

Browny lead off the start line but had to submit his hole-shot onto the single track after attempting to turn down the incorrect trail. Both Browny and Nathan had a good race and never looked back, gradually extending their time gap from us. 

Our race was steady off the start as we got comfortable with the trail conditions and new tyres from Mitas. Once we were warmed up we spotted our main competitor for the day, not the speedy Mick Harris who was already way up the trail but local roady Greg who dabbles in the dirt art. We put in a consistent effort to bridge the gap to Greg on the second lap and stuck with him for the remainder.

We swapped turns in leading around the lap with Greg a number of times taking up the bulk of the race. Greg would show his strength on the climbs but we would catch him quickly the more narrow and tight the trail got, this seemingly balanced out by the time we returned to transition for the next lap.

Photo: Forestry Corporation NSW

In a moment of distraction Greg made an error and got a taste of the dirt leaving me to inflict a solo lap on my unprepared legs. A lap later Greg came screaming past on the tail of a Taree teams rider but on the remaining portion of the lap we clawed our way back onto his wheel. We headed out on our final lap and there didn't seem like there was much in the tank, Greg still lead but we were pausing longer to pass riders and there didn't seem like the earlier spring out of corners to get back on-pace.

On the returning trails to transition Greg motioned he wouldn't contest this final lap and we passed him, putting 100% into the final sections to take second place in the 5hr.

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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.

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SuperFlow at Jollynose - Championships

With the success of our return to SuperFlow last month and our body holding up to the riggers of riding we were looking forward to returning to Jollynose for another SuperFlow session with Rocky Trail Entertainment. This return to Jollynose, after last years fortunate adventure, was only our second time to the area and there was much talk of the trail changes and updates.

SuperFlow is like Downhill racing but pitched on more Cross-Country trails than crazy Downhill trails. That isn't to say there is nothing a little insane, there are often a number of technical features, possibly and A and B lines for you to choose from. And when your whipped into a peddling frenzy from the Enduro crowd cheers, fat-tyres and fluro, you can feel like a Downhill adrenaline junkie.

We had a number of JetBlack MTB Racing team mate in attendance, some regulars and some new to SuperFlow this season. It was great to get out and ride with our team mates now that we don't see them as regularly. What is also pretty special about SuperFlow is the new friends you create along the way, either through a bit of a heckle or some competitive spiritedness, or just a regular chin wag.

Unbeknownst to us we even had some Tamworth locals in the mix. A "Hi Crummy" was all that was needed to affirm that behind the full-face helmet, was someone I did know mid way through the day. 

The trails started at the same places as last year and were generally the same through the top halves. Lower down one trail had been shortened to remove some pedalling, another had been updated with a series of obstacles including a serious flow section of gaps. The third and final trail was a fairly straight forward XC thrash.

We did a series of warm-up mini runs on our first trail till timing started. It was good to test out the hardtail since it has been over 4 months since we had ridden it. We had our Mitas XC tyres on and needed to have that reminder of how far to push both them and the bike. It was also a test for our shoulder as we are still coming back from the clavicle break in March.

We completed three timed runs of our first trail improving the first run by 17 seconds and the second run by another half a second, for a sub three minute run for Fox. We then went and visited Stans, said to be the most challenging trail for the day, and they weren't wrong! Our first run was very much a sighting run and an eye opener, especially as we got down to the gap flow section. Yeah, we were out of our depth. It was almost a four minute run, some twenty seconds off our closest competitor. 

We had joined one of our team mates for the next run, Lazer, and we gave them a ten second head start. We caught them at the pinch of the short pedal climb and tried to scoot away but was caught back up by the line for a 3:50.5. Our team mate had to complete another trail so we parted ways and returned to the dreaded Stans.

After psyching ourselves up and a few deep breathes we took Stans on again, trying to find the most out of the trail to keep it smooth and flowing. Unfortunately we still rolled a few of the largest gaps and couldn't connect all the sections together but managed to drop a massive twenty seconds through finding our smoothness on trail, a time much closer to our competitor at 3:34.4.

Another run was needed on the fast Laser course, just to see if we could better our time. We attempted to chase down an e-bike but didn't improve our time with a 00.1 of a second slower. Close enough to our 3:50.5 previous run.

It was pretty close with only four or so seconds between our closest competitor and after some pretty fast runs we were about cooked. We called it a day, joining our team mates and other competitors for post ride beverages and food.

We ended up coming second in the category after our closest competitor went and dropped nine seconds on his first run of the day. All and all a great day out with Rocky Trail Entertainment and the Jollynose Crew!

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SuperFlow at Awaba - Round 3

We were excited to take another step in our on-bike return to racing. After six hours of racing two weeks ago at Glenrock and Armidale, it seemed our shoulder was holding up ok. Thankfully most of the issues were with our lack of cycling endurance, our legs were very tired. On the upside all the BodyBalance and standing-strength work we had been doing over the last few months were paying dividends and keeping us in the game.

The SuperFlow event at Awaba was the next event on the calendar and after all the fun we had last year, was not one to be missed. SuperFlow is like Downhill racing but pitched on Cross-Country trails. That isn't to say there is nothing crazy, there can be a number of technical features, and A and B lines. When your whipped into a peddling frenzy of air-horns, fat-tyres and fluro, you feel like a Downhill adrenaline junkie.

We were joined by Tamworth local Nathan for this massive day which would include the four hour trip down the New England Highway. As much riding as we could pack into the day's events. And finally the four hour trip back up the New England, keeping our eyes peeled for any kangaroos in the twilight.

Rocky Trail selected a great series of trails for us to ride this round, knocking off some of the flat and pedally bits and dropping in some more vertical challenges. From sweeping open dust-bowl corners to tight loamy switchback there was plenty to keep everyone on their toes. It was pretty cool to bounce in and out of the top five times for most of the day as everyone dialled in the lines. In the end after numerous fire trail climb repeats, a go at riding the bike SS and some rear brake issues, we were happy to say we had left our best efforts out on the trail.

We placed 7th in Veterans with a 7:39sec, and
Nathan placed 7th in U19s with a 8:04.

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NIXCS Series UNE Armidale Round

As if four hours on the bike wasn't enough of a wake-up call, that was the Rocky Trail Grand Prix at Glenrock. We booked a seat in a ute (thanks Marty) and paid a race entry fee to see if a double dose of racing was what out legs needed.

A cool windy dry New England day greeted us when we arrived and there was a chance to catch up with our NIAS MTB Program athletes, Tamworth MTB riders and reecy some of the course while the kids were out doing a short race.

NEMTB had marked a course that was no where near as technical or hilly as the National Cup Round we raced early in the year. But it still had a number of tech challenges and plenty of open ground to cover at race pace.

They young-guns got us started off the front and we worked our way around the first lap. We took it not to easy but straight away it was evident there was massive fatigue from yesterday's 4hrs and 1500m Vert.

UNE trail is a short fun trail with a variety of features and riding conditions. It is based on a hard-pack dirt with very little loose sections. It's openness offers a choice of lines through many of the features and the trail pays back, like so many do, when you connect it all with rhythm and flow.

We had a short duel with one rider as my descending gained me ground but his climbing brough him back. In the end the wind knocked me around and I couldn't pull enough power to stay with him across the open ground.

Local Tamworth riders Mark and Marty (of ute fame) where behind us and we managed to hold Mark's wheel for most of the remaining laps. Marty didn't quite make any ground on Mark and I but was keeping close.

Mick Sherwood went on to place 1st for Elite, a good half lap in front of us after he rode in the eight hour race the previous day too. We placed 2nd in this round and look forward to more of these NIXCS events.

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