Enduro Pulse trip to Mt Buller

Visited Mt Buller this weekend to ride some trails and checkout the new Copperhead trail.

Quick video from our trip. Stay tuned to the Enduro Pulse site for a review and full video of the new trail. Sweet.

Hey Bud!

Rad trail. Loam trail with plenty of steeps. Good times.

Our trip is almost over. Another week of epic trails. A Toonie race. My birthday. A downhill pumptrack. And the Sun is shining... Its gonna be hard to get back into it on our return to melbourne. Luckily i'm keen to create some dirt joy, Aussie style.

Half Way Through

2 weeks done of our Whistler trip and we've covered heaps of trails. There are still plenty to go and sadly it seems that there is always something just around the next corner to checkout and ride.... If only we had unlimited time. Maybe I will win the lotto when we get back.

I've been taking heaps of photos are some videos, a helmet cam is yet to appear so i don't have any super cool vids yet.

All my photos have been uploaded here for those not on facebook, over 300 so far to checkout and with the slowest laptop ever I am having to limit the uploads onto the blog.

So with the sun peaking out from the clouds its time for another ride... Up the 27 switchbacks of the flank trail we go..... more pics to come. Enjoy!!

A day in Squamish.

More pics of riding and stuff

Plenty to do and see in Whistler town. Some fancy wheels have been popping up here and there. this one was in the carpark out front of our apartment...


Super cool muscle car. Plus some monster trucks and Company cars...


The RockShox F350 SuperDuty.

Haven't spent much time checkin out the shops tho, plenty of riding to do and views ahoy...


Awesome views from the Flank Trail.


Near the start of Trash.


Sweet trail with a natural gravel surface.


I figured out how to use the camera timer!!


Some cool bridges on Cheap Thrills. Double Black Diamond, i only walked 2 of the rock drops...


Across the river and around. Then drop off more rocks... I dropped my saddle to ride this trail... A seat dropper is totally justified here.


Rock slab riding of Beaver Pass, this dropped into some tight singletrack with plenty of roots to bounce off. definately better with the seat down an inch or so...


Another one handed riding video on the Flank Trail. Hopefully i can borrow a GoPro helmet cam for some sweet trail ripping action.

Riding Vids

Woodwork...





Double Teeter Totter...

Whistler Week 1

first week is almost over and its been a bit of a roller coaster.

Starting with a 3am wakeup call on monday morning to get to the airport for our 6am flight. Thanks to Rhino for volunteering for that one.

After checking in our bikes with no dramas(thanks QANTAS, they didn't even weigh them, legends) we boarded the plane for a quick trip to Aukland then onto another plane to LA. Watched 4 movies between Melbourne and LA, played solitaire, slept, ate etc...

Thanks to the marvels of air travel we arrived in LA 6:30am on the same day we left melbourne. Sadly this was where our trip took a turn.

LAX is shit. no other way to put it. I made the mistake of only giving us 2.5hours to get from our plane, get our bikes, recheck our bikes and board our next flight. LAX was having none of it and we waited at passport control for over an hour. got our bikes and rushed our re-checkin, sprinted to terminal 8 and then got stuck in another que.

Connecting flight missed.

thankfully the United checkin people got us on another flight via Denver the next day so we had a night in a LA hotel and another 6am flight. Our bikes were somewhere in the airport hopefully to be put on a plane heading to Vancouver....

Denver is a nice airport. Vancouver is way better.

Sadly our bikes didn't make it. They weren't allowed to arrive before us so were being shipped on a later flight to arrive at 9pm. Because it was 4pm the baggage people organised to have the bikes delivered to our accommodation. "Should arrive by midnight..." So after we checked in at our accom we waited. And waited. and waited.... by 2am i gave up. Left a note on the front door with our numbers just in case and tried to get some sleep. 4am the phone rings and our bikes are here!

So dramas over it was time to get ourselves settles and head out on the trails....


The view from our apartment


Fresh bridge on A River Runs Through It. Sweet.


Rocks and roots. Plenty of tech to ride..


Mel on some of the Whistler stage of the BC Bike Race.

bridges in the Lost Lake Park

Ben and Ryan Join Enduro Pulse

Yep, signed on the dotted line.... so to speak.

Check out the EP press release here with probably one best photos of us riding ever taken...

We are both pretty excited to join and get racing under the new colours.

Yeti SB-66

Just in case you've been living under a rock today.....

Yeti SB-66. The new 6 inch travel platform.

Read all about it at the Yeti Site

The PinkBike Site has some great closeup pics of the suspension including a video of the new Switch Technology.

More pics, info and some cool graphs at Vital MTB

What else could be on its way???

Another Muddy Sunday

Winter Series XC racing at Beaconsfield. Its been a wet week but the forecast was for a clear saturday arvo and no rain sunday. The decision was made late saturday night to head on over and have a crack... Mel decided to race as well. Show off the new bike.

Beaconsfield scout camp has an awesome network of trails and the organisers put together a great little loop with a good mix of single track and short fire road links to pass on plus a couple of muddy bogs just to make it interesting...

The laps were short so A grade ended up with 7 laps. I had no expectations looking to have a consistent ride and hopefully keep the power on for all 7 laps. Mel entered B grade and had 6 laps.

Looking around on the startline i guessed i'd be out of the top 5 but i'd have a crack anyway. The muddy trails would be awesome and suit my style.

Off and Racing and after slipping my foot twice on the pedal i finally clipped in and we were into single track. Feeling strong I kept the pressure on the rider in front and after a lap i realised we were in 4th and 5th. 3rd place was just up ahead and we were catching. Weaving through the trail we popped out onto a short fireroad climb and both attacked passing 3rd place.

At the halfway mark it was AJ and Rohin way out in front. Steve Cusworth 3rd, Me 4th and Peter Kutschera in 5th.

I thought Steve and I had left Peter behind but like the silent assassin he was always there, we'd get away only to be roped back in somehow. Every time i was sure we'd gapped him i'd take a quick glance over the shoulder only to see him still there.

After a few more laps and some heavy traffic on course we finally got a decent gap on him and with one lap to go it was Steve still in 3rd and me in 4th. I'd ridden hard for 6 laps and was feeling it on the climbs. Through some last lap traffic i lost steve's wheel and that was it. Crossed the line in 4th happy with the day.

Mel had a good ride too, first female across the line and some prize money too. A stick in the gears and small get off slowed her down near the end but the new bike is working well.

Finished. Not as muddy as last week thankfully. Note the lack of bottle, i ditched it on my last lap to save weight.....

Another sunday arvo cleanup.... wouldn't have it any other way.

Mel out on the new bike.

Results for the Day should be up here at some stage....

A New Adventure

Bendigo 6 Hour

Depending on what forecast you listened to, race day would be rain, passing showers or the Rapture. So we packed extra gear just in case.

Hangin out in the tent before the race

Weapons of choice in the background and the approaching weather..... it would be a muddy one.

For the first time in a 6hour we had a gas heater, thanks to Rich who also brought the tent, we were ready for riding.

Ryan was on start duties and kitted up in a rain jacket.

Lead moto for a controlled start, ryan is on the right, elbows out...

First transition, clean kit. Didn't last long. The passing showers kept passing and there was plenty of muddy water and clay to blast through.

After a few laps to sort out the field we were in Second having a good battle with team Catch Us If You Can. They had setup an early lead with some smokin laps(one of which was the fastest lap overall for the day) but we clawed our way back with consistent riding. I was getting my riding mojo on and having a ball on course. Slick trails, rocks, great singletrack and not too many sharp climbs. Laps were being knocked over in a bit under half an hour, i was covered in mud and didn't care. It was great fun out there.

Sadly we never quite got a gap on the Catch Us team and with our brake pads failing and fatigue setting in we settled in second and raced for the finish.

Pretty muddy out there.

Last lap. Brown shoes. They should be white...

The aftermath. Mine was the same. Needed 2 washes to get it clean again.

6 hours of sitting between muddy laps..... Ryans chair copped it.

Results from the day are here.

Cleanup aside we had a great day. Mel took her new ASR our for its maiden voyage and with Aleisha they Won Female Pairs! Great stuff! New bike obviously working well even in the mud.

More Pump Track action

Another clip, solo run around the pump track. complete with transfer line. Camera phones are awesome....

Rockin....

Beechworth 6 Hour

Cruized upto Beechworth with Mel on friday for the S.H.I.T.S. A 6 hour i've missed every year for some reason or another. This year i can tick it off the list and can confirm its a ripper!

Friday night we stayed in a B&B with Rhino, Marnie, Rich, Aleisha, Jack, Will and Andrew. In whats becoming a tradition we got a bit loose....

not the best prep for a 6 hour but we had a great night.

Next morning i solved the Heineken puzzle. Although i needed some help with the correct spelling.... Heinekin is not correct apparently

So we headed to the race site. Bit cold but it was lookin to be a clear day. I was on first lap dutys and suspected i might still be a bit "under the weather" from friday night....

Carbon ASR ready to rock. New wheels from Yeti Australia with some new tyres were pimpin and made me look super pro. Dont normally run the saddlebag but with no pockets on the skinsuit i didn't want to be caught out. Its happened before...

The first bit of the race was up a fireroad climb. That slowly got steeper till we turned into the bike park. I wasn't ready for anything and suffered my way up the climb and into the bike park.

First lap was tough. Stuck in a conga line of riders and not moving forward i rolled along with a good group but was thinking we were way off the pace. Into transition and Rhino went out. Time to pull myself together, water, eat, check bike, focus... Think my hangover is going..

Rhino smashed out an awesome lap and launched us into a great position, we were back in the race!! Next lap i was back in the zone. We managed to sneak up into 2nd place. Duelling with Team Wombat.

Sadly Team Wombat got past us and gained a good gap that we couldn't get back, i was loving the track and the ASR was on fire, all traces of the hangover gone but tired legs were starting to show on the last climb back to the transition area.

Watching the laptimes i could see that Giant Bikes was catching us. Dig deep was the order of the day. I gave it all on my last lap, smashing the singletrack to maximise the time cause i knew the last climb would be where i'd need everything i could get.

I knew it would be close, i'd seen the flash of a giant jersey behind me in the weaving trails. With 200m to go the course does 2 switchbacks and he was right there, in a world of hurt i just had to dig deeper. Up the small ppinch to the finish i clicked from the 42/36 down to 42/32 and left it all on the track...... To cross 15 seconds up. We stayed in 3rd!!

Great day, great result. Mel and Aleisha raced in Female pairs and had a great battle going with Trailmix and Gemma and Alice swapping the lead around all day. Yeti Spaghetti ended up in second place! Another great result.

A photo of me, rockin the skinsuit

Rhino, also rockin the skinsuit

Think the skinsuit tradition may continue..... getting hammered the night before may not...

Early Morning Pump Track Session

7:30am start at Lysterfield. I rolled in to find Ash busy sweeping the berms.


this was a great idea. gravel in the berms wasn't fun, we chased each other around the track progressivly getting faster and more confident until our ability levels were exceeded and down i went....

The shoulder breaking DJ was rockin. Heaps rad fun...

YouTube clip from the morning.

It sure felt faster when i was riding it and i sure ain't no pump track champ... we figured a transfer line too but a small amount of digging is required to make it rock. Plenty good times.

The DJ is now out of the dog house...

Bike for Sale

Hard decisions have to be made. With the arrival of a new Carbon ASR something has to go... Sadly it is the BigTop.

It is on Ebay. Here is a Link to the Ad.

Keep an eye on it. Well looked after. Raced but maintained well. Totally awesome bike but i cannot afford to keep it.

Revisiting old trail

Rhino invited me to join a local woodend crew on a ride from the Wombat loop out to Blackwood and back. The ASR5 was my bike of choice for the ride, plenty of travel, nice and fast.

On the drive into wombat forest i may have detoured through a few mud bogs, just for a laugh...

5s all round, the Yeti Strike Force(Farce) was in the house...

Ryan getting some mad air!

The ride out to blackwood was pretty uneventful. A small section of the wombat loop, some fire road, a long straight with rolling hills that we "Tour De Timor'd" along then a sweet ridgeline decent. The bikes ate up the decent and before we knew it we were climbing again.

The climb kept going and we turned onto the water race trail. A track that skirts around the hills and climbs very slowly toward Blackwood.

Jules from the Wombat MTB club is just ahead.

The trail is narrow in some areas with no real room for error. its a long drop off the side.

From Blackwood we hightailed it back to the cars, cracking out 60km in just on 3 hours. Not bad for a MTB ride.


Ryan and i may have hit up the mud in the 4x4's on our way home as well. This time my bike copped a spraying...

Strange happenings

Late last year Neil and I headed out and made a bridge with old pallets to span a mud bog. Just quietly we thought it was awesome. We even dug trenches under it for the water and left plenty of room for horses to get through as well.


Lookin good.

So I was surprised when i got sent this photo

All the sections removed and thrown into the bushes. Guess we must have pissed someone off...


So when Mel and i went for a ride out that way on Friday we weren't expecting this

The bridge is back!!

Wonder how long it'll last this time......

Nemisis Marathon Challenge

Last year this race taught me a lesson. I was in pretty good form, had preridden the track and climbed almost all the hills with my 2 x 9. The single track endurance trail i had also ridden while helping to clear it so i was ready for a good day. Not expecting to win, just ride strong and cross the line at the end.

I never got there... I built a new bike the week before and had some setup issues. Big cramps, going backwards and at the 70km mark i stacked and taco'd my rear wheel.

This year would be different! Perfect weather. No pressure. Smaller field. Just ride my own race.

I did however roll to the startline on a new bike....

Couldn't help myself. Brand new ASR carbon with 10speed XTR. Built on the thursday before


Special Projects Area


Done, just need to shorten those brake hoses


Sweet cranks....

Sweet ride. Full XTR. Thomson. Easton. DT wheels. About 10.5kg with my Tricon wheels. When my new DT240 with stans rims arrive it should shave a bit more off...

Probably not down to Sid's 9.04kg ASR but enough for me..

Race Day

Rhino on the startline. Ready for climbing... His race didn't go as planned, many of the leading elite field missed a turn and ended up on an earlier part of the course. I missed the arrow too but thanks to the preride day i knew early that i'd missed something and turned back.


Halfway up one climb, think this was at about 50ish km. This was where i got off to walk. No Shame, everyone else was too...

The bike was awesome. Climbed well and decended like a rocket, i even picked up a place on the last descent, passing in the rubble on the outside of a corner and dropped him launching waterbars like a crazy man.



Finished. Slammin down a solo... It didn't really hit the spot.

The meat pie from a BP servo on the way home sure did tho....

Mel raced the 45km event and smashed the field. Winning the Queen of the Mountain on the first climb, riding away from her competition and even people in the 90km classes. She nearly caught me apparently.... There is a new ASR arriving with her name on it. Me thinks someone will be unstoppable in a few weeks.

Photos from the race will appear when i can find some.