Australian Yeti Tribe

Enduro Pulse trip to Mt Buller

2011-12-10T23:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-07-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Woodwork...

Double Teeter Totter...

Whistler Week 1

2011-07-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-07T02:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-25T05:18:00.001-07:00

Bendigo 6 Hour

2011-05-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-19T03:41:00.000-07:00

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

Rockin....

Beechworth 6 Hour

2011-05-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-07T02:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Counting Down....

2011-04-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Cool ASR7 video

2011-04-15T02:07:00.000-07:00

Funny video with some sweet riding on an ASR7

Special Projects

2011-04-07T14:55:00.001-07:00

Duael 6 hour

2011-04-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Rules, Pairs only, No double laps.

Ryan and i started our race prep the night before in what is becoming typical style.

Sunday morning rolled around all too quickly and with the usual daylight savings stuff up we managed to get to the race site with time to spare and set up.

Lap times had been a hot topic all week and the quoted times ranged from 17 out to 45 mins. A quick word with some locals had it pinned around 20mins for the fast guys, it was gonna be a tough 6 hours. Constantly swapping out, minimal rest time, on the rivet for 6 hours. Who would crack!

Ryan and i had decided earlier in the week that the ASR5 would be our weapons of choice. Pine forest single track can be rough and with both of us still listing shoulder injuries in the excuse book it would make the day a little nicer toward the end.

6 hours in a skin suit, Ryan 'threading the needle' on a double jump into a rut.

No skinsuit for me. Climbing one of the only steep sections of the course.

Laps were indeed fast. The lead pack were doing 18-19 mins. Ryan was cranking out the 19s, shaking the night before off like a pro, i was still attempting to see through beer goggles and consistently in the 20s. No time for wandering around. In, food, drink, jacket on, jacket off, GO...

Heaps of fun.

The fast group were smashing it, at the 3 hour mark there was a split where one Paul Van decided to up tempo and cracked out a 17min lap, then another. This split the 4 teams up and from then it was just a matter of who could hold it together and not lose a place.

In our race we had settled into a comfortable 10th place in elite. Doing some jostling early with Brad Davies and Brett Kellet(who were in the 40+ damn them) and the CBD Cycles team of Paul Randell and Grant Lebbink.

Eventually the 40+ guys left us behind and we left the CBD guys behind. As we both started to hit the wall it was one lap to go and Ryan took the last lap honours. Finally even-ing up the lap score from the Kona 24 hour in 2009.

Great day and a great course. Super quick laps made for some exciting times with everyone pretty shelled at the end.

Bring on the Short Track Enduro format!

Nemesis Marathon PreRide

2011-03-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Monday was spent on the bike. Headed up to Avoca with Rohin and Grover to preride Rohins marathon course. Given last years epic fail by me it would be good to actually finish it before the race in a couple of weeks.

The boys, on our way with about 90km to go and close to 3000m of climbing.

Last year it was tough, plenty of climbing and the endurance walking trail single track was a suffer fest. The school that built the track "back in the day" didn't follow no IMBA guidelines. This year however will be different. Work has been done over the winter months and plenty of new switchback sections made to avoid having to ride straight up the hills.

Sadly my climbing legs had been left on the couch and as i slowly ran out of gears this was my view on the climbs for most of the day....

The one respite, flat road, its over pretty quick tho and back to climbing.

It wasn't all bad, with the ASR5 as my bike of choice the extend descending that comes with long climbs was super rad. KM of flowing 4x4 trail with almost perfect waterbars to launch off. Some sections of the course begged to be sessioned with some fatter tyres and maybe a set of knee pads just in case. Drift, Launch, Drift, Clench. So good, made the schelacking i was taking on the climbs worth it.

Only 20ish km to go... I didn't get any more photos as all my energy was directed at the pedals and keeping my chin up.

Total ride time, 8 hours. many of the spent waiting for me I suspect... Bit of riding to be done I reckon...

Trent Lowe

2011-03-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

Trent Lowe Climbing the 1 in 20 from cycling tips on Vimeo.

Mega Sunday

2011-03-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

For a big sunday ride you gotta prep right. starting the night before. The plan was to travel to Castlemaine for a loop of new trails, have a quick lunch then hot foot it to Woodend for a loop of the Wombat trails. So the pre race prep would have to be special....

Rhino now lives in Riddles Creek so a trip to a the Woodend pub on saturday night for a meal and some beers would set us up well.

Holgate Brewery in Woodend does a sample paddle. 8 different beers.

One to go....

Forcing down the last of a mixed grill... No fancy plating up here. just meat stacked on meat.... Sweating was not optional on finishing.

8am start at Castlemaine Cycles for a classic loop of trail. Rocky, windy, all within reach of the town centre.... We had 4 other locals come along for the ride and our guide Aaron did an awesome job taking us around. He also cleared the trail of all the orb spider webs that covered the trails. The wet winter/summer has increased numbers dramatically, some areas looked like an Indiana Jones movie.

Rolling the trails.

Climbing and winding. We covered about 30km of mainly singletrack. In the end it was our arvo ride that meant we'd have to head back to the car. My Garmin showing us the quick way home. Finally it proved its more than an expensive odometer...

After a quick lunch and debrief we got back in the truck and headed for Woodend and the Wombat trail loop. New location and new riding crew. Troy Bailey, Scott Chancellor, Lewis Rattray and Mel joined us for more trail.

A bridge in the forest...

warning, sweet trail ahead.

Total riding was a bit under 60km for the day. Its great to be back on the bike. Still working on building up the strength but couch time is over.

Now its ride time!

New ASR Carbon

2011-02-22T02:24:00.000-08:00

ripped from the Yetioz twitter... To be raced at nationals this week. Check it out on the elite startline...

Buller national round

2011-02-06T02:59:00.000-08:00

Snap from the weekends racing....

Pez hits the big time with a Win in vets!!

2011 ASR Carbon

2011-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Spy Pic?? Found this on the internet. No intergrated seat mast?? Interesting.....

Just a little crash

2010-12-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

technology is awesome. CT scan of my shoulder showing my scapula in 3 pieces.

After work i was hopping around on my Yeti DJ/Trials bike and looped out landing flat on my left shoulder. It was a hard landing and i knew something wasn't right. Drove myself to hospital for xrays and CT scan.

Shoulder ok but Scapula is messed up... no surgery required, just rest time

So thats it for this year. 4 weeks in a sling then rehab and strength work. Its possible by mid feb i'll back on the mtb. Just in time for the Nationals!!

new with tags. Jealous? we are...

2010-12-08T22:37:00.000-08:00

Bad Karma

2010-12-02T01:51:00.000-08:00

Think I'm bad luck at the moment. don't believe it? read Rhinos report on our Jeep 24 Hour race. Not good.

Thankfully under an assumed name on the Felt team i managed to log some good laps and help the team to a win. (i think Neil would be happy with the times i posted...) Giant Check Shot!!

Got one more race on the calendar this year, unless i head to tassie for the national round, then is Christmas party's, beers and maybe new bikes!

So to make way for "upgrades" I'm selling my ARC

Medium Frame. XTR brakes, King Headset, Reba fork with XX hydro lockout

Thomson stem and post

819 rims, tubeless tyres. XO shifters and derailleur.

New chain, cassette and chainrings.

email me if interested... ben.randall1@gmail.com

You Yangs XC

2010-11-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

If bad luck runs in threes then i should well and truly be out of it by now, but I could also say you make your own luck and my result at saturdays national round was more due to me just assuming "she'll be right mate" than any sort of voodoo hex thingo..... The vets field had a podium of contenders but at ground level I had the upper hand. Mainly due to the technical nature of the trails. The only thing to slow me would be other riders on the course.

After a practice ride on friday morn i decided the BigTop would be my weapon of choice. The descents weren't rough enough for 5 inches of travel and the climbs were sharp and required plenty of pedal mashing. hardtail rules. I even swapped in a 39/26 chainring setup to make the hard pinches a bit easier.

After transponder allocation and warmup we were called up on a third row behind the Under19 field. The start was hecktic with Rohin and I slotting into the U19 field after the start loop. As we entered the course and started to climb the rocky singletrack riders were being spat off the sides due to the tech nature of the climbs. (pretty sure it was designed to be ridden down)

My plan was to stay with rohin(or whoever was leading in vets) and make a move closer to the end. Figured I'd easily keep away in the trails. 3/4 up the first climb rohin got caught with some U19s who had stalled on a rock garden and i rode straight past. In the lead my plan changed. Go For It!

This was working as i monstered my way up the next technical climb, over the top past the downhill start ramp and into Travs Diamond. On friday Rhino and i had spent some time sessioning sections to get good lines through the rocks and i hit every marker. Pumped and with no vet riders in sight i headed into the next section of techo climbing with a couple of U19s, including the eventual U19 winner, Up the rough stuff and then down, berm, berm, rocks, berm, berm, final rock garden for the lap, pin it through and the back wheel tags the last rock on the exit.

pshhhhhhh, Flat tyre.... Yep, Still running tubes. Stupid mistake. Had plenty of time to convert the bike. Been meaning to convert the bike but just didn't quite get there.... Make your own luck....

So wheel out, tube in, get passed by 90% of the field, back on the bike and through the start/finish, lap 2, not really focused. Do some tricks for the spectators on a big rock slab climb. Got my shit together and decided to make it a race again. Catching people and moving up through the ranks. Got to the same area as my first flat and pshhhhhh, down again. Boo.

Rode it on the rim back to the feed/tech zone and with a flat tyre mono over the finish line i called it. Done. DNF. Out of tubes. Lesson learnt. Next time I'll follow my own advice......and maybe harden up a bit too

More trail repairs

2010-11-15T01:15:00.001-08:00

Spent sunday morning doing some trail work. With the extra rain we've been getting this winter everything is growing and what used to just be dips in the trail are creeks and muddy bog holes.

Construction materials.

The plan was to trim the teetree and grass then build a bridge over the mudbog. The tree trimming went fine, once we managed to get the chainsaw running, sadly Mr Whippersnipper decided sunday morning was rest time and refused to stay running. Vroom, errrr, stall. Repeat.... bugger.

Neil and i grabbed building materials and got to work.

Neil brought his working boots....

Mid way through constructions, seems my phone camera got some condensation in it....

bridge done. As you can see on the left, its pretty muddy.

ready to ride...

Next weekend is the National Round at YouYangs. BigTop or ASR5??? hmmm, rocks, single track, tech decents, tough choice...

Dirtworks 100km Marathon

2010-11-07T01:34:00.001-07:00

This was a great race for me last year. A perfect mix of singletrack and fireroad to suit my style.
Bigtop time... The 29er would be sweet on the fireroads and rail on the singletrack.

This year i was hoping to have a good ride, unsure of my fitness i entered vets again. Planned to just tap it out and try to stay with a front group.

That plan lasted till the 20km mark. I attacked. Got a gap in singletrack and didn't look back. I was cranking.

I started to catch the tail end of the elite group who had started 5 mins before us, getting closer the the half way mark and still feeling good. I still had plenty of Gu gels left and the halfway feed zone was coming up. Passing a track marshall i was informed i was in 6th, overall!

Through some singletrack i collected a stick in my chain but it didn't seem to cause any problems, i pulled it out and kept riding. The next climb i shifted up the cassette then crunch. Rear Derailleur cage gets caught in spokes and is dragged around, snapping my hanger, bending the cage, buckling the rear wheel, breaking a jockey wheel and b tension screw. Pretty much ending my race.

Busted up good.

Where the hanger used to be. Seems i may have broken part of the frame tip as well. One of the hanger mounting bolts is missing and the hole it used to go through is gone as well. Damn. Lucky they are replaceable.

just riding along of course....

So i had to singlespeed it to get home. Sadly the chain kept trying to climb the cassette which was making some nasty noises and rear tyre was buzzing the frame where the wheel was buckled. Limp home time.

Great course though. Definately one to do again next year.

More flood damage

2010-11-07T01:31:00.000-07:00

One week on

2010-10-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

and a downpour later....

normally the trail goes through here

No quite as fast or deep but about double the size of normal

totally flooded

The bridge work from my last post, needs to be extended slightly but otherwise perfect.

another section almost under water.

Bit more trail work

2010-10-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

bridge work..

bit more trail "paving"

rocks and logs, nice ride, better than getting stuck in a mud hole

one handed riding video....

Sweet as

2010-10-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

new shoes... Silver.

New fork! Tapered steerer, QR15, sweet as....

The bike feels a million bucks, took it out for some sweet trails and its now too fast.... super stiff front end and direct steering. Now my tyres feel like they are too low pressure. Yeah, back on, its trail rippin time....

back in training. Low carb

2010-10-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Worlds and the aftermath

2010-10-17T03:57:00.000-07:00

Sadly I didn't really take any good photos from our time in canberra. I rode the solo course with bellie, the teams course with mel, The solo course by myself(and had a minor getoff, ouchy ribs)and the teams course with Rowney. Both courses were tough, solo course was rough and would be a test of toughness. The teams course was tight and would be tough to pass on. All good.

As usual midday saturday comes around quickly and there we were lined up.

Worlds Elite start line to the left...

....to the right

3am shot?? The phone camera doesn't do justice to the sight from up on the hill. Teams and Solo riders with all the tent setups and pit crews. It was a huge event.

The Solo presentation dinner. Packed into the ANU Bar with a huge Que for food our table decided beers would be better....

And the next day we drove home to Melbourne. Roadtrip done. A great week capped off with a great race. Bellie had a good race but had to stop early due to shoulder issues. The Gu/Yeti team won 4 man teams. Mel and I rode some sweet trails and had a nice week in the sun.

So welcome back to Melbourne, rain, cold, rain... I took some time out to do some weather proofing of a trail.

Bit more to do.... more photos next time i make the trip out.

Pomingalarna Park Wagga Wagga

2010-10-07T02:39:00.000-07:00

found a trail map for this place while searching for the Nail Can Hill map and given it was on the way we stopped in for a ride. Definitely a surprise, i didn't need to refer to the map at all. We just followed the arrows and they took us on a nice loop around the park.

The cutting

similar trails to Beechworth in areas, with the rocks, trees and winding trails. great fun.

Not a super tech area but the trails flowed well and made for a fun morning

Blair Witch trail....

bit further on in Blair Witch, a bone hanging from a tree...

The luge, reminded me of Melrose trails, winding down a gully with plenty of cool g-outs.

So another great place to ride on our way to Canberra. We have arrived at the 24hour Worlds site and setup the caravan. Managed to get in another ride around the solo course. Some typical stromolo rocky sections and cool flowing trail. Some which will get tough at 3am....

More riding to do on friday then maybe a quick loop saturday morn before I take my place in solo pit alley to help Bellie in his race. Hope to get some more pics of the race site and course up tomorrow, as long as the laptops battery lasts....

Nail Can Hill

2010-10-06T00:44:00.000-07:00

I had no idea where to go, just a map and some trails marked on it. So i picked a trail and we headed for it..... turns out i picked the wrong one

Its marked as unemployment track i think and we walked up most of it. It reminded me of an Epix ride... to be fair it was more a walking path and probably not for riding. If you were to ride it i'd say head down on a long travel bike would be better. So we slogged our way up and onto the ridge road the cuts through the trail network.

Heading along that road we took a turn off to the left and hit the good trails... we ended up somewhere and after some loops, climbing and "just a bit further" I located where we were on the map.

some smooth winding trails, great fun

some rocky winding trails, also great fun

The 29er got a run today, again proving its a great ride. floating over the rocks with ease.

mel on the trails

Semi downhill track that cuts across the side of nail can hill another sweet trail

Great view off the hill.

another walking track?? i reckon you could ride it. Mel wasn't up for it.

more rocky trail. this is a great area for rocks. the trails are super sweet. sadly the map i had was a bit out of date and we probably missed a heap of great loops. Next time we'll try and hook up with some locals for a guided ride....

Art short.

So, Nail Can Hill, definitely worth a trip. I'd either take a local or a gps and map cause there is a heap of trail to enjoy.

I'm told new trail maps will be available once local councils and govt etc give the go ahead, hopefully that is soon.

Keep an eye on the Albury Wodonga Mountain Bikers site for the new map and upcoming races.

onward we go toward Canberra....

Mt Beauty

2010-10-05T02:17:00.001-07:00

First place to stop on our riding road trip in Mt Beauty. The sun is shining and the trails are dry. Perfect weather for riding. Its been about 6 months since i last rode here and longer still since i raced the trails. Seems they've been busy building new trail....

Big Hill MTB Park...

Bit of "North Shore" inspired trail

Survey Track. A must ride when you come to Mt Beauty, great to ride up, unreal riding down...

ready to rock, i think....

can you spot mel.... ?

Mel got an owie...

Classic. Great flowing trail too

New trails are being made... Lukes Trail. Very nice.

Well worth a revisit. Next stop Nail Can Hill...

Canberra Roadtrip

2010-10-05T02:03:00.000-07:00

Heading upto the World Solo 24 hour/Scott 24 in Canberra so Mel and i have done the grey nomad thing and hitched up a caravan, packed the bikes and stocked the fridge.....

Arrived at our first stop and setup camp. Couple of yeti's hangin out....

hangin in jeep land

2010-10-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

about time

2010-09-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

BiGTOP back In the house!

Where's me bike?

2010-09-26T03:18:00.000-07:00

A week later and still no bike. Well, no Bigtop in a box, crusty helmet and shoes. My bike didn't make it onto the plane last sunday when we left Dili, most bikes didn't. No worries, couple of days they reckon... Fail. Makes ya wonder when pretty much everyone else has been called to pickup their stuff. Tomorrow??

Keen to get the 29er back now. Check it over and have a good ride..

Not to worry, plenty more bikes in the shed

Today was trail building day and i took the ASR7 out for a demo ride.

It ate up the trail. Flat pedals and all. It rocked the ups and downs. I may have even binned it on a fast corner, washing out the front tyre and headbutting a small tree on my way down. Laughing all the way...

A Yeti convention. ARC, ASR7 and 2 ASR's hiding in the trees.

Climbing.

More Climbing

At the top. Rest time.

Timor Snapshot

2010-09-22T04:28:00.000-07:00

Bellie and I on Day 4. We were told off for taking this shot. Apparently some other riders didn't appreciate us chatting and taking photos on the big climb.

Sorry, I'd finally found my legs.... bit late but good to finish up on a high.

Cool Vid

2010-09-20T02:45:00.000-07:00

Mick Ross has put together a short video using helmet cam shots taken from our ride at Melrose. The AMB boys took me on a ripping ride around the bike park showing off the best it has to offer. Keep an eye out at around 6 mins.... crazy lookin dude, nice bike tho....

Melrose, the Film. from Mick Ross on Vimeo.

darwin airport. 2am.

2010-09-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

On the way to timor.

2010-09-11T01:16:00.000-07:00

30 Bucks of Sydney airports finest, Dim sum, singapore noodle and a beer. Next stop, darwin.

BigTop First Rides

2010-09-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Got the bike sorted on monday and being at Lysterfield it seemed the easiest thing to kit up and ride those trails. Well, the ones that are open and not mega mud fests. Snoz and i punted around the trails doing some trail work occasionally and i came to the conclusion that the bike is excellent. I don't have much 29er riding experience but i can say this, everything i've heard and read was confirmed on the trails.

The first 29er i rode was ok but not being setup 100% for me so it didn't blow me away with its awesomeness. This time i could feel the big wheels doing their thing. Once rolling the bike motored along and it was a sweet ride.

the Comm Games rockgarden was dispatched with ease, big wheels didn't get hooked up so much in the rubble and i could hold my speed a bit more which made the climb out less of a drama.

The bike loves a log rollover, pop the front wheel and your over, seemed like i needed to prepare less as the wheels wouldn't get hooked up in the gaps.

Can't get around the fast its a bigger bike tho. Tipping into some fast corners and sharp corners requires a bit more effort and because you sit a little higher i may have just scraped through a few low branch incidents. The 26er definitely works better in these areas.

Smiths Gully 7am. frosty. Great morning for a ride and great trails. With 2 rides a Lysty done to get the first ride tweaks done i headed out for some real trails. Happy to say I had a ball. Old trail was owned, and some new trail was given a run with excellent results.

On the move.... XO ten speed group works well, basically XX but more affordable. For me the 42/28 chainring and 12-36 cassette work fine. For Tour de Timor i'm swapping on the XX cassette from my ASR5 cause it has an 11tooth. Apparently i may need it, given some riders are running 48t big rings...

other changes will be a 10degree stem flipped to point down so i can get a lower riding position. Currently i have a 5 degree run flat with a riser bar(yeah, i know, point stem down then put a riser on...I like the riser hand position and width) so the 10degree will set me up a bit lower for Timor.

In the truck. My new favorite?? it definitely is up there.....

Ready to ride!

2010-09-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

Photo dump

2010-09-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

10am. Arrival...

Tapered headtube. super stiff.

removable ISCG mount. why not?

Chip system dropout. normal QR, or 142x12 or swap the whole tip for a single speed setup with inbuilt adjusters. Do everything frame...

Bit of Old skool

Remove the plate to fit the direct mount front derailleur.

wheels yet to be built.

into the beers, 25th anniversary hoodie and the Devil Cat

New Tricks

2010-09-02T03:55:00.000-07:00

new bike and new threads....

bike is on its way. Circus Styleo. Apparently larger wheels are the future so I've signed up. Just in time for Tour De Timor... Hope Mr TNT delivers ontime...

Big thanks to Paul for hooking me up with a 25th Hoodie and Socks. UnReal!! sadly i forgot to take em home for photos.... Tomorrow will be photo day. Bike(fingers crossed) and threadz...

Excited? Shit Yeah...

Neil "The Hammer" Robinson

2010-08-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

New Trail

2010-08-29T02:47:00.000-07:00

Paved....

Drains

Landscaped

Benched.

Ridden and rated, sweet.

bit late fella

2010-08-29T02:19:00.000-07:00

Castlemaine 6 hour, over a week ago, old news really. Been an interesting week so here is a brief version of a race report. Sadly i have no racing shots or trail shots, apart this one of the start line i pinched from faceboof.

I rolled to the start after saying i wasn't really up for smashing myself. Sitting a few rows back we were shuffling forward and i just "happened" to shuffle myself onto the front line. Mr Norris in full Drapac gear rolled up beside me. After a bit of banter and ANOTHER crap on about the A lines on the course (fair enough, some people need to be warned about the dangers on the trail. But I'm awesome man. A lines only for me...)

Off and racing! I tacked onto Norris for the first bit of lap 1. about a third of the way in he rode off and i kept my hammer down, A lines were destroyed and i finished my lap in 2nd overall with a healthy gap to those chasing. Mel and i did lap for lap, then i did a double lap, mel did a lap, i did another double and then Mel brought it home to finish with 5 mins to go. We were in the lead a lap up and i'd already got out of my riding kit. Day done!!

2 bottles of wine and a Medal each. Unreal. Great day and great trails.

Rumour it may be the last 6 hour? not sure, maybe something new next year. whatever they do it'll be sweet.

Jubberland 6 hour Castlemaine.

2010-08-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

What a great place. Private land. Awesome trails. Perfect weather. Great result.

I borrowed the Jeep Wrangler for the trip to the 'maine. And immediately found out how big the tank is....

The trip up was fairly uneventful. arriving just as the sun was going down we got out campsite setup and wandered over to see the Fixi Toss. Maybe i should have had a go cause the other mini events from the evening were a bust for me.

Longest Skid comp on a 16inch bike - Disqualified. not sure why but i wouldn't have won anyway

Dual Eliminator on 16inch bike - out in the first round.

I was up against Paul Van and decided the way to beat him was knock him off the track.

Neg.

My 70ish kg VS his 90ish kg didn't work. My handlebars were no longer pointing the right way.

Also, to be totally honest, I Cant Ride A 16inch Bike. Cant do it. I've ridden trials, DH, XC. Tech stuff, picked some stupid lines and pulled em off. I just cant rock the kids bike. That is all.

Thankfully there was a roaring fire and many ales to pass the time.

Highlight of the evening, fixi tossed into the fire.... by morning the cranks, rims and rear hub had been reshaped into metal blobs. The frame was ready for a coat of paint. freshly heat treated....

Frosty morning. minus temps overnight combined with an air mattress that decided to loose air made for a hard night. Many a plan was devised on the drive home after the race on how to improve the tent and sleeping arrangements. I think borrowing a caravan may have been the winner....

Mario says yes to coco pops.

2010-08-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

Bit Wet Out There...

2010-08-15T04:48:00.000-07:00

tyres still white tho.

White

2010-08-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

oh yeah.... thats a lot of white.... All ready for some mud at Chase the Sun tomorrow.

Finally i'm back. Its been almost 4 weeks. All just to get well again. The drugs did their job, now to clear out the system and get back on two wheels. If it wasn't raining so much that would be so much easier.

During the downtime i upgraded the headset on my ASR5. Obvious choice, Chris King. Tapered. Smoooooth.

Out with the old...

In with the new.

While the fork was out i may have hooked the digital scale upto the Reba... its a bit of a bodge job of parts so wasn't expecting much. Lets just say the new SID 120 World Cup XX i've got my eye on will cut some significant grams. 120mm travel, Tapered Carbon Steerer, Hydraulic lock out, 15mm through axle.

And they are white...

ASR frame for sale

2010-08-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just the frame. If you are interested send me an email and i'll pass your details onto the seller. ben.randall1@gmail.com

SIZE SMALL

a visit to the doctor

2010-08-02T02:06:00.000-07:00

2 weeks of coughing and sounding like a pack a day smoker has finally got the better of me. A visit to The Doctor completed. Diagnosis, Lung infection. Crap.

Hi, I'm Ben Randall....

2010-07-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

.....you may recognise me from AMB magazine....

shameless self promotion...

Ebay is awesome...

2010-07-13T04:04:00.000-07:00

Beaconsfield XC

2010-07-12T02:12:00.000-07:00

Much like the Castlemaine XC last weekend, its been a while since i raced Beaco. Always good for trails out there and over the years they've expanded the trail network heaps.

Arriving early i scored the #1 raceplate...

The practice lap seemed to take forever with the majority of the course singletrack. Great loop with single trail climbs, lots of techy bits and minimal fire road.

Again i went in without any real idea of how i'd go pace wise but with last weeks good results i was ready to push a bit harder.

A quick lineup and rollcall then we were racing. The young guns were off like a rocket but i managed to settle in around 5th or 6th.

With majority singletrack, passing and drinking was tough. I took advantage of some "gaps" in the undergrowth on the trailside to pass and by lap 2 was sitting in 4th. Brenton from Torq, James Peacock and Sam Chancellor ahead. Through the start/finish i overtook James and Sam to be on Brentons wheel. We kept the pace on and dropped them.

For the rest of the race I was chasing Brentons wheel. Sometimes right on, sometimes chasing, always looking for a spot to jump over. Sadly i couldn't get on at the critical times and also missed a few opportunities. In the end we finished as we had ridden most of the race, Brenton 1st me second.

Pretty happy with the race and my current form, lap times were very consistant and i felt strong through the whole race. Next time we go harder again.

the fro continues...

Bad Haircuts

2010-07-06T03:12:00.000-07:00

The Power Beard and White Man Fro were out on sunday.....

No need for a beanie!

Castlemaine XC

2010-07-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

Back to the Pines... Need i say more....

think the last time i raced around the pine forest from the gun club was in the Single Speed Nationals/Worlds years. Slightly hazy riding but the riding was awesome...

2003 single speed nationals. I rode the whole course....

So sundays race was going to be good fun, and the trails didn't disappoint. Weather was perfect for racing. Trail was slightly damp but just enough for the dirt to be grippy and the roots slippery.

Plenty of folks lined up in A grade with some big names there to keep everyone honest. Paul VDP, Neil VDP, Brenton Jones(TORQ), Phil Orr, Jack Lamshed(Felt), Ashley Hayat, Camm Winn, Andrew Choma, Neil Robinson(single speeds are very 2003 mate...)

All ready for action.

I chose to ride the ASR5 for maximum squish and cause its a sweet ride. And it delivered. The start was straight up fireroad, Jack and Brenton took the lead and were gaping the field within 500m. I was hangin out in the top ten watching Paul VDP who wasn't giving chase.... Hmmmm smart me thinks.

Lap one we arranged ourselves with me in 5th or 6th. I had ridden onto a group with Jack and Michael Crosbie. Up ahead i could see Brenton and further up Neil. Paul was out of sight.

Feeling great i set about getting past the small group and working my way onto the podium. Lap 2 i passed Michael and Jack and rode up to Brenton, i overtook Brenton at the start/finish onto lap 3 and managed to catch Neil soon after that. Paul was nowhere to be seen.

The trails were sweet, drifty, fast and flowy. I was loving it. Lap 4 was just a matter of holding off Neil to keep my second place overall. Great finish!! Paul was about 2 mins in front and Neil came in a minute back.

Mel raced as well. She chose B grade to get 3 laps. More riding. 17th out of 53 in B grade. Bloody unreal.

one handed riding video...

2010-06-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

from todays trail ride....the trusty phone is a bit average... I really need a proper camera thingo..

cornering with one hand is an experience.....

Super Awesome Trails....again

2010-06-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

some people know where these trails are. if you do, great. if you don't, sorry can't help ya......

one of many.... Seems that all my favorite trails have some relics on them.....

Garmin??? neg... batt flattery

Small wash away. No drama.

dirt is soft tho. take it easy....

damn...

Ready to Rumble

2010-06-24T03:37:00.000-07:00

Super Pro.

hittin' up the trails

2010-06-21T03:21:00.001-07:00

Spent saturday and sunday working, watching the rain, watching people come in from riding the Lysty trails wet, covered in mud, cold but grinning.

Sadly i missed the Chum Creek XC race on sunday which would have been a cracker. steep climbs. greasy clay. out of control descending...

But it seems i picked the better days to have as a weekend. Today started out misty and cold, ended up sunny. perfect day for trails so i loaded up the ASR5 and headed to Smiths Gully for a solo smashfest.

Been windy over the last few weeks. Surprisingly this was the only trail blocker i came across. Bit too big for me to move.

The weekends rain was still very much on the trails and apart from the new section below the Bakery it wasn't too slippery.
Dirty bike was the order of the day.

Definately a glasses ride with some large mud globs launching themselves at my eyes, only to be deflected by my Rudys...

The ASR5 was loving the trails. Propedal off decents, long climbs and windy trails. I really need a helmet cam and someone to chase...

Trail goes this way.....

I call this the nerve tester. Its near the bottom of a long singletrack decent. the trail is heading to the right at speed then switches back to the left at the last minute, with a large tree to catch you if you cant make the turn.

620 wide bars are awesome. no wider thank-you....

Presents in Prague

2010-06-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

The look of suprise on my face, when they were handing these out at the Prague race of stairs event. Now, just need to send one back to Ben....

Roadtrip!!

2010-06-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

Headin over to South Aus tomorrow. A while ago Bellie asked if i'd support him at the Kona Mawson MTB Marathon. Something different so I said yes.

Truth be told he originally asked if i wanted to team up for the race. 350km plus, all at once, non-stop. I declined. too much like a solo 24hour race. done that, no longer my thing. So he has teamed up with Jason English.

We have about 1500km to drive to get to the start. Then they start riding and i drive behind as support. Race starts on friday morning and depending on how fast they ride, will finish early saturday morning.

20hours + of driving. hmmm, what have i got myself in to.......

Saturday and sunday will be spent at the Melrose Fat Tyre Festival. I'm taking the ASR5 to punt around the awesome trails of Melrose. Can't wait.

Big Top 29er

2010-06-02T04:17:00.000-07:00

Bike Rumour website has a First Look at the new Yeti Big Top 29er. Some great photos of the frame and its options. ISCG, geared or single speed dropouts, through axle rear, Check it out.

Chase the Sun Round 1

2010-05-31T02:28:00.000-07:00

Airtime...

5 hours of red hot racing. The course was 90% dry and very fast.

Steele smashed out lap 1 to bring us round in second behind josh carlson with brenton from Torq a bit behind and Cal Britten seemingly off the pace.
For the next 3 laps it was us and the Torq boiz absolutely mackin through the course with only a wheel between us. Cal and Dan were chasing hard and were always just in the background.

On my 4th lap the pace started to take its toll. Robbie got a gap on me as i got caught in traffic and i couldn't get back on. Dan B was lurking and past me too. Back into 3rd. i transitioned to Steele for his 5th lap and he took up the chase. Looking to leave it all on the track.

Sadly it wasn't to be. We were both done. It would come down to the wire for my last lap. I was ready, sort of...

Steele came through with under a minute to go and i rolled out to attempt an amazing comeback.... ha.

Congrats to Dan and Cal for a great race, Dan winning it in a sprint finish.

Thanks to my team mate Steele for shredding the trail all day and the Torq boiz Robbie and Brenton for pushing us all day.

Cool Vid, check the yeticycles.com site for more

2010-05-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

RHINO is in Europe

2010-05-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

Its great to be covered in European mud again...

Racing down the streets my Sreyr in Austria.

Wish we have a fish eye lens for this one...

Me waining for the start of the 4 day stage race in Belgium.

Rocking......

Hitting up my first race in the UK, jet lagged/cold.....

20 hours into his 24 Hour race in LOFER Austria and I stop for a nice cup of coffee in my YETI MUG....

My YETI getting ready for insane inner city crit action...

Over n Out,

Rhino

Sweet As Upgrades

2010-05-25T03:38:00.000-07:00

Had a bit of downtime after the red centre, partly cause i feel rest is good and partly cause my return to melbourne and working has me on the cold wagon. Started with a sore throat, moved on to a blocked nose and now a cough. On the mend i hope, just in time for round 1 of Chase the Sun @ Lysterfield this sunday.
5 Hours of smackdown, I'm teaming up with Steele Von Hoff......

Time to get the ARC back up and into tiptop shape for racing.

I've been looking at streamlining the setup on my hardtail for a bit now and a single front ring has been on the list. Rather than use front derailleur to keep the chain on i decided to go use an E-Thirteen XC chainguide. Easy to setup and very quiet.

Went with a 38t chainring and an 11-32 cassette. Should work ok for the moment. Considering getting a 10speed shifter setup(when the X9 or XO sram ones are available) to increase my options with a 11-36 cassette.

one could go a bit nuts and waste a lot of time with chainring and cassette options but i figure its like a single speed, spin to win or stand and grind it....
So far its working well.

The second stage in my upgrades was a new fork.

Rockshox SID XX World Cup. Carbon steerer, Hydraulic lockout and all the other things that come with a TopEnd fork

The Hydro lockout has enabled me to try an idea that i came up with while building my ASR5. I ended up with a right hand lockout lever on my "custom" rebas... it got me thinking that with a single shifter for the rear gears i could flip a right hand lockout lever to the left and it would be like a shifter.
Works just fine...

So the right hand side has gear controls under the bar and left has fork lockout control under the bar.

Custom...... awesome....

Err....

2010-05-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

Skoda Confirms Yeti.....

Made the local paper...

2010-05-16T04:11:00.001-07:00

ha ha. Time trial stage. John Jacoby is driving the 4wd...

Cycling news has some race reports too.

And that, is mountain bike racing...

2010-05-13T22:34:00.001-07:00

yep. Boo to flats.

Todays stage started with me in 3rd on GC. only 5 seconds to AJ and 3 mins to English. At about 10km in i gapped the group through a sand patch and realised that this was my chance to have a go.

Through the rocky single track i managed to keep a good lead over the chasing group and was feeling awesome.

At the halfway point I'm told i had 5 mins lead on English. Which would have put me into the Lead on GC.

the last 10km or so of the course was rough. essentially an old 4x4 track along a fence line. Still riding well i was pumped to win the stage when disaster struck.

not sure but either a sharp rock or piece of wire slashed a hole in my tyre. I put in a tube but had troubles getting it to pump up.

Andy Fellows and Ben Henderson caught me as i was getting going again but there wasn't enough air in the tube. Off again to pump it up and Jason English caught me. Finally getting my shit together i rode on, up ahead was the 2km to go sign. All i had to do was get in before AJ to keep my third on GC and i did it with a second to spare.....

So, what could have been. But, that is bike racing.....

Stage Win!!

2010-05-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yep. Stage 4. 98km of flatout in the sand. A group of 3 got a break after a long sand section at about 20km and from there we drove it hard to stay away.

AJ, Andy Fellows and I worked hard together to keep away and at the end Fellows dropped off in the last 5km.

Suitably shattered but winners are grinners...

Stage results are here

Red Centre is underway!!

2010-05-10T02:21:00.001-07:00

Bikes preped and ready to rock...

Fancy a GU?

Stage one is all done, and all new course for this year. Hot and rough was the name of the game with rocks a plenty. The ASR 5 was getting a workout and loving it. The race organisers claimed it to be the roughest stage of the week and they weren't wrong. One of the sections of trail was called The Hell Line.....

Feeling good over the stage i ended up in 4th. Awesome start to the weeks riding.

Winner AJ, 2nd Jason English, 3rd Ben Henderson, 4th Me, 5th Andy Fellows.

Mel had a good ride to finishing the tough stage 8th in her category.

Stage 2 hill climb rockin the skinsuit. came in 6th. Think i got the same time as last year. Coughing my lungs up all the way back to the lodge, love the short efforts....

Results can be found here

Twitter the race here, checkout the Specialized Folding bike... Ouch

spy pics...

2010-05-06T03:11:00.000-07:00

Yeti. 25th anniversary. Some sweet rigs on the way i hear.... Unreal.

Returns

2010-04-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

For those going to the DirtWorks 100km in NSW this weekend, keep an eye out for the special ops BigTop on its maiden voyage. I hear an Ex Yeti pro rider is making a comeback.....

Trail Dayz

2010-04-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Back on the bike and getting used to the new ride. After sorting saddle, seat height, suspension air pressures, stem length(long story, when a 100mm stem is not actually 100mm).... So now its Hammer Time!!

Worked saturday and monday over the ANZAC day long weekend so had sunday and tuesday for riding. Joined a select group for a road ride on sunday, up and over the Dandenongs for a couple of climbs to stretch the legs and maybe punish the marathon nationals organiser Rohin...
Up the Devils Elbow and into the hills we headed out towards Emerald. It was then the rain came.... Out came the jackets and on we went towards the Wall. No idea where i was but getting a bit chilly i decided a TT to the base of the climb was in order. All going well till i got a bit crosseyed and nearly towed the eschelon into the dirt. Whoops.

Rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Apart from being told by bellie we were doing extras.... ok.... Yes coach...

Monday we got smashed all day at Trailmix. Got my dishwashing hands on for part of the day too. Cleaned the last 4 years of bike grease off. Good weather too for those that got out for a ride.

Tuesday was my monday so it was mtb time and Smiths Gully was calling. Great place to get the trail mojo happening.

Railing singletrack in the damp. Still tweaking the setup but loving the ride.

Descending a fireroad somehow i lost all the air from my rear tyre. Boo. no spares... Idiot. A quick call to my trail guru and the quick way home was established. Walking time again. In the rain.

Fast.

its only flat on the bottom

Decided to try some new tredz. Trailmix has Schwalbe tyres and the Yeti Factory Team is on the program so I figure its time to have a go.

First to try is the Rocket Ron. A knobby tyre, not as aggressive as the Nobby Nic. perfect for the slightly damp trails we have a the moment.

So far i'm liking it but i think the Racing Ralph might be better for fast trails with its closer packed center strip, plus it'll probably drift better.....

Only a week to go before we head to Alice Springs for the Red Centre Stage Race. Last year i managed to sneak into the top ten. This year we'll see... Big names are going to be there. Jackson, Mather, Fellows, English......

Last minute training???

THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN....... one Big Top has arrived in Aus. More info and pics will come soon. For those that care the frame weighs in at 1.89kg
29ers....

Trail Art....

2010-04-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

For Sale???

2010-04-22T03:30:00.000-07:00

No Way Mate. Its mine, mine....

put my Gobi saddle on, sweet seat. Put a new drink bottle cage on, drinky drinks.
Time to ride.

Marathon Nationals

2010-04-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

well... not the best day for me but thats life and racing. Looking back it probably wasn't a smart idea to race a brand new bike one day after finishing the build. More due to setup than anything else.

I found out that the saddle i'd put on(SDG Yeti in white, limited edition) was not comfortable. The drink bottle cage i used was impossible to get the bottle back in.

And i really wasn't familiar with how the bike handles.

But, really the issue wasn't bike it was rider. cramping early in the race and struggling to climb even the basic fire roads. I went backwards and decided to have a roll around to finish.

No luck there either. after the first section of Walking trail there was a click coming from my chain. New chain, new everything so something was up. Stopped at the feed zone to fuel up and fix the issue. Broken chain. Hmmm lucky. Quick link installed, water in and off we go.

decent, water bars, awesome, feeling a bit better, turn left onto walking trail, flick through a corner and BANG. Clipped something with my pedal went down, hitting a tree with my lower back(got a nice bruise too)

This was the end of my race. 70km in. Got back on the bike and my back wheel is sprung. Buckled. won't rotate through the swingarm.

Took me half an hour to walk and carry the bike back up to the feed zone where i stayed till i could get a lift back.

Tough day. Tough race. I'll be back next year tho....

Yeti 29er

2010-04-16T02:39:00.001-07:00

checkout more photos here

Sweet New Rig

2010-04-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Yeti ASR5 Carbon
SRAM XX build
DT Swiss Tricon wheels

Super Mega Awesome......

Just in time for the Marathon Nationals.

And I Quote.....

2010-04-11T02:54:00.000-07:00

From AMB mag July/August '99.

....Are disc brakes on an inevitable roll towards everyday spec on our next bikes? Will the average off-road rig of 2002 be a twenty four pound, five inch an end travel, twin pot hydro disc'd, thirty speed job with 2.5 inch tyres and inflatable saddles, retailing at $2500? Will the hardtail fade away into nothing but a display in a Smithsonian Institute for our kids to laugh and point at?.............

Haven't seen any inflatable saddles yet.......

Back then Shogun bikes were hot stuff.

Get Out There And Ride

2010-03-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Yes Sir!!

Monday morning, Rhino and I loaded up the AyUp Defender and headed out in the rain to Woodend...

The rain had cleared when we arrived but returned mid ride. The first few KM of trail was a bit strange, riding in the wet again but soon enough we didn't care and were racing along not even bothering to avoid the puddles....

Sweet singletrack made that little more interesting in the wet... Someone have a sitdown??? We both had "moments" out there

Some of the trails we rode are used in the DirtWorks 100km Classic. Well worth a look this year. 7th of November...

Wet trails. Covered in mud. Awesome....

The trail goes this way........

2010-03-23T17:40:00.001-07:00

http://sport.iafrica.com/news/2316581.htm

RIP James Williamson

2010-03-23T03:14:00.000-07:00

Still shocked by the news. RIP Willo. You will be greatly missed.

Our Condolences go out to his family and those close to him.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/former-world-champion-williamson-dies-in-south-africa

Snooze You Lose

2010-03-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Lysterfield Dirt Crits.

Last Lap.

Having watched Steele successfully attack and ride off on lap 3, I had tried to get back on in lap 4 and 5 with no luck.

Just one lap to finish, fire road climb, turn, climb again, drop into singletrack, skip over roots, drift, jump, pump, attack short climb, rail corner, decend fire road, hard left into the final fire road climb.

Quick look over the shoulder, can't see anyone, roll up the climb, not far now, 20m and a rider sprints past.....

Scott Chancellor....... Ben moves from 2nd to 3rd.

Lesson?? The Race isn't over till you cross the line...

Mountains To Beach

2010-03-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

Winners!! Of Male Pairs. Awesome race, highly recommended.

At this stage we don't have too many photos. Our camera is travelling via Aussie Post back from Narooma. (It got left behind)

I do have these ones...........

The AyUp Hills Hoist. Doing the Washing at Buckenderra after tuesdays 80km stage.

One of the competitors was riding this sweet 2 speed rig. Truvativ HammerSchmit Cranks. Single rear cog. Litespeed Ti dually frame. Xentis 4 spoke wheels. Juicy Ultimate brakes. All the good stuff.

When the camera returns we'll get a race report up.

Checkout the local newspaper report!!

Race Pics

2010-02-25T02:42:00.000-08:00

Flying the yellow shoes on the way to a 2nd place...

First of the Lysterfield crits. More like a mini XC race with A grade doing 7 laps of the course. The course was slightly longer for A to make the everyone finish around the same time. Great racing to be had....

Next week will be a different course somewhere else in the park. I will be halfway between Thredbo and Narooma racing the Mountains To Beach with Rhino. 5 days and 400km.... Awesome.