Tag: Race

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Jill Kintner – Queen of Crankworx 2016

A massive congratulations to Jill Kintner – Queen of Crankworx World Tour!! I’ve been watching all her runs and rides this year and was very impressed watching her come back after some issues and injuries that ended in a 4th place overall last year. But this year she has been on fire! Smashing the competition and ripping at events like the dual salmon, BMX, downhill and her list of her achievements goes on and on … Awesome!!

Aside from loving riding and training hard, I really appreciate that Jill is also a consummate artist and actively integrates her artwork into her routine – an inspiration for being a well balanced, kick-ass role model for us up and comers!!

Jill Kintner – Queen of Crankworx 2016

Jill’s story is inspirational as it really exemplifies how diverse riders and their skills can be. Not only does Jill embody this, but she is also unusual in that she is not only an exceptional gifted and hard working rider. She has been very successful in a wide range of events and disciplines in riding – not just good at one – but in her case two, three, four and more!

Her story is great as it clearly shows that riding bikes can make positive change in your life. Obviously biking is not just for health, transport and happiness, but also, for a few select people with the opportunity and dedication like Jill, can also be an avenue to forge a career. With this comes travel, sponsors and exposure. However, all of that must be earned –  which Jill certainly has. I hope she is stoked and reaping the rewards of all her hard work over the Crankworx season this year!

People ride bikes at all kinds of level of confidence, skill and intensity. I am a big fan of her dedication, skill and tenacity for making it happen. It was great to se her husband Bryn (Cairns born and bred not less!) and her mates out in full support mode – including mocking up a photo of ‘Jill for Queen’ Posters – GOLD!

So, congrats on this year’s season Jill – your an inspiration!! Now I’m off to practice my pump track skills!!

Source: Bike mag Anthony Smith
Source: Bike mag Anthony Smith

 

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Dirt de Femme 2016

Canberra’s Dirt de Femme 2016 was held on May 1st at Stromlo and was a great event on all accounts. Now in its 5th year encouraging women and girls of all ages to get out and ride MTB, the ride is not only a race, but a great event to get female riders together and have a great day riding.

This year saw the highest record of entrants and the reasons for this post, is that this month saw a cover change come over the Mountain Biking Australia’s website, with David Blucher’s photo of Micheala Watt, riding in all her resplendent glory on her fat bike during the Dirt de Femme this year.

It is great to see healthy lashings of happiness, colour and fun being injected into ride days – and at races – keeps the smiles on the dials and everyone humble. If you are out to race on the day, by all means, go for it. But, it is also equally just as important for those at all levels to have an equally challenging and engaging time. So I tip my hat to Micheala, who provided much fun and energy on the day and serves as a healthy reminder not to take ourselves too seriously – ever!
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Calling all singlespeeders!

Today I registered for the Single Speed World Championships 2016 (SSWC 2016) to be held in Woodend, Victoria later this year on October 21-23rd 2016. Yahhooooo!

Yes, you heard correctly, the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP for 2016 is in Oz – not just the National SS which I posted about October last year.

From a preliminary count of entrants, there are currently 177 registered, with about 25 women and good peeps from all over the world are decending- so if your keen to ride (and you’ve got a costume in mind), get online and register ASAP as the entries are only available until September 1st – only another 8 days left…. so, calling all single speeders …….. local, regional and international…..

Entry will set you back $140, but if you want all the perks of the full event calendar, but none of the riding, there is also a Party Animal option.

I’m getting very excited and can’t wait. I’m even forgoing a full day HDR Workshop, of which I am on the organising committee of, to attend because this kind of opportunity does not come around very often!

2016SSWCPoster

If you have never heard of the Singlespeed Champs, or have never been to one  – check  it out the videos below…

The clip below is still my favourite SSWC clip – it is from NZ’s race last year – it typifies what the event is all about…

I found the below 7 minute video recently and it gives some good insights into the earlier origins of SSWC. It is hilarious to see what is the same (beards, drinking, tamping with bikes and fun activities, and what has changed (mostly the elaborate nature of the costumes!)

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SEQ Enduro 2016 Round 3 Garapine

On the weekend, I rode the South East Queensland (SEQ) Enduro 2016 Round 3 at Garapine. It was my first Enduro foray out this year, but I wanted to make the effort to get on the bike after a very busy semester. I needed the fresh air and break from Brisbane. I didn’t care about racing fast or the forecast, people were warning it was going to be pouring with rain and super muddy, but I don’t mind. I’m from Victoria and ridden in some pretty wet and muddy conditions and come out with a super smile on my face – there more people whinge about the conditions, the more fun I seem to have. I see it as an attitude and a decision to make. As long as I’m not cold – I’m up for riding in pretty much any weather conditions – besides, I like the challenge to use new skills.

Meet new peeps

I also wanted to make an effort to meet some more people in the Enduro scene up here and catch up with some riders that I had met in Cairns for the UCI World Cup earlier this year – as well as support the event. I haven’t been training or riding the big bike for ages, so it was a perfect opportunity to go up and be social, have a ride and get a feel for the series. I was impressed with the genuine welcome and warmth that was extended. I heard my name being shouted out as I rode past people and the Defcon boys especially made an effort to welcome me and cheer me on. So to the Defcon Team -especially to Stu (thanks for asking me to ride in your jersey), Andy, Matt, Tim and Luke – thanks for your support, laughs and great company on the trails – you make my day even better!

Masters Women

I entered the Women Masters division for a number of reasons. Firstly I wanted to populate the women’s divisions – and being a little older, I think it is really important for the general public to see older women riding. In some small way, because I love riding so much, I feel like it is my responsibility (and my pleasure) to ride for my age group – primarily to show that women 40-50 ride mountain bikes, to encourage other women to join in but also because I like riding at my own pace – as I’ve said before.. I’m a rider, not a racer. The rest of the competitors did super well, and I was very impressed with the field, including a young female U15 entrant which was great to see and results on the day speak for themselves.

A league of her own

Well, I had a great time. I rolled through the trails, just enjoying the tracks, had a laugh, got sweaty, cheered on other riders, made some new friends and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. I ended taking out Masters Women, not because I was fast, just because I was the only entrant – but that was the whole point. As long as there are people riding different divisions, it gives opportunity and options for others.

So all in all – I had a great day, tricky new trails and lots of fun.

I ended up being tired, safe, happy and delighted to be back on the bike – what a perfect day!!

IMG_1479

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UCI World Cup – Round 2 Cairns 2016

Yesterday I returned from another awesome trip to Cairns for a UCI World Cup round. This time, it was the UCI World Cup – Round 2 Cairns 2016 and it has been 2 years since the last time this event has been in Australia. Of course, we took our bikes with us on our ‘family holiday’ (Mum = me, Dad = husband, and ‘the kids’ = our bikes) and we rode Atherton Tablelands and surrounds with different mates each time – great to be out on old familiar trails and see what has changed.

Incredible racing

Last time we went to this event, it was wet, muddy and extremely hard work for all – but this, time the weather was beautiful, the track was primo and the racing was incredibly exciting. As usual, the racing format was Downhill on Saturday and Cross-Country on Sunday. Because I was not the World Cup working this time, I got to catch up with a heap of my beloved crew,  chat to teams and riders, and cheer on the side lines until I lost my voice (which didn’t take very long).

Both days racing was thrilling for different reasons. The Downhill was exciting because we had four Aussies in the top 10, with Sik Mik (3rd) and Brosnan (2nd) absolutely killing it – the top 3 within the same second! The crowd on the side lines created a super festive atmosphere and I haven’t had such a rocking great time track-side for a while.

If you want to get a taste of how fast and breathtaking the downhill track was, check out Sik Mik’s race run here.

Me and my bikie besties

One of the highlights for me was definitely the social accessibility of the event. Aside from meeting Bruni and Gwin for a long chat (no photos as it was ‘serious’ business),  I got my tourist on and went on a ‘search and photograph’ mission – the end result is below. I got to catch up with some old superstar mates from Enduro, XC and DH as well as meeting some a slew of new riders!! Sweet!! Happy days!!
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Australian National Singlespeed Championships 2015

This weekend was the Australian National Singlespeed Championships 2015  – Dec 5th & 6th  @ Wombat State Forest, Woodend, Vic. HOORAY!!!

I thought I would post some details about this event because I think it is very special, being one of the few cycling occasions, in my opinion, that genuinely brings all kinds of people together with the focus being on fun first and race second. It does so in such a way that the racing aspect is not the central purpose of participating – although it is for some. It is one of the rare competitions where having fun and being social (and wearing a kick-ass costume) is the norm for participation.

 

Australian National Singlespeed 2015
Australian National Singlespeed 2015

 

Event schedule

Friday evening – race briefing at the Holgate Brewery (one of the event’s main sponsors). The vibe was relaxed, friendly and very cool with people catching up and strangers chatting to each other like old friends. It was refreshing to be in an environment where the competitors had no ego. Instead, this motley crew had come from all walks of life, yet had come together out of a common link with bicycles (and beer) which meant that conversations were stimulating, convivial and unique.

Saturday Day Racing – 3 Stage race

  1. Mass start 10 km (1 beer to cut off 2 km) – then rode a short liaison to Stage 2.

Between stages 1 and 2, competitors had 2 hours to self-serve lunch, have a beer and complete the 2nd stage.

  1. 3 – 4 km time trial (with a game of darts included, where the score of your darts throw was your time bonus in seconds – given that it was a 36C day, hot with adrenalin running, so it was deceptively hard to keep concentration to get off a straight shot! If you got no score on the dartboard (which many did), you had to knock back a schnapps shot.
  2. 15-minute window to start 17kms final stage with a compulsory beer at the end.

This stage format worked very well. The timing chips used meant that riders had immediate access to ride times and results (so results could be checked in between stages).

Sunday – Social Rides

Event Highlights

There were about 95 riders – with about 15 women, some came to actually compete (race), but most were there to ride socially and to participate in supporting the singlespeed community (and to dress up), catch up with old mates and make some new ones! Being a 36C day meant that riding was much more challenging – especially for those in costumes – many of which were discarded layer by layer as the riding got hotter and hotter! The trails were fantastic -flowing and technical with at least 90% of the trails being single track. The food supplied for lunch was a real highlight – especially the vegetarian option, which was unexpectedly outstanding, wholesome and exceptionally delicious.

Overall, it was a tremendously satisfying and enjoyable event to be part of – one that truly brought a range of riders, supporters and lovers of bikes together. I would highly recommend people to come and take part in the next Australian National Singlespeed Championships in 2016 – which will be epic as it is also the 2016 WORLD SINGLESPEED CHAMPIONSHIPS!!  What a great opportunity to get amongst it. I hope to see you all there!!!

Further Singlespeed action

For more information, details and photos for this event – see the Australian Recreational Singlespeed Enthusiasts Facebook page.

If you have never seen, heard or know what a Singlespeed National race is like – this clip from the 2015 NZ Singlespeed Nationals will give you an idea – ENJOY!!