How To Be A Mountain Biker

You are going to see this video everywhere in a few days.....with good reason! 

What is wrong with a Powerbar for lunch...? !

Cheers.

Cascade Hut Ride

This post is totally out of order with what has been going on these last few weeks. It is a very nice problem to have, too much going on and nowhere near enough time to tell anyone about it! But today was an awesome day out with my kids and a good friend from Brisbane who is also spending a few days here in the Snowy Mountains region and it will not wait !

Gaz had the idea of riding up to the Cascade Trail Hut. It was a walk he had last done about 27 years ago and figured it was time to revisit the area. He kindly invited my kids and I along but unfortunately his daughter wasn't feeling the best so would stay in camp and rest up.

The drive out to the Cascade Trailhead was predictably pleasant. I thought we would ride out the Thredbo Valley Trail so that we could finish the ride in Thredbo but we were unsure if we could ride the trail so drove to the trailhead.

We were quickly kitted up and we pointed the bikes along the trail. The morning was warming up already with a fairly high maximum (in the 30s C) forecast so best not to hang around. Gaz did have to pose for the "new bike shot" first though!

The trail started upward pretty much straight away which brought much snarling from the littlest member of our party. He wasn't really feeling the love for climbing hills this morning!

To be fair, they were big hills and it was moderately warm. In the interests of heat regulation he took his helmet of while the snail's pace climb continued, donning it again for the descent on the other side.

After a short break at Bob's Ridge we started down the next descent.

 It was quite steep and before long we had a man...er....woman....er.....girl down. Decomposed granite surface combined with a right hand bend and a bit of front brake equaled gravel rash and some torn knicks. However, after a short analysis of the sequence of the events all was well and we pressed on.

With the dust washed off our shoes in a few cool creek crossings, we were looking along a shallow valley toward some distant wild brumbies that were grazing quietly.

Not far to the hut (and lunch) now!

We spent a bit of time exploring the hut, eating our lunch around the fireplace (not lit of course) then wandering out into the meadow to observe the brumbies. This was the highlight of Miss 11's ride as we have been seeking out wild horses each time we have visited the Snowies for about the last 5 or 6 years now and finally we had success!

As the horses wandered away we made our way back to the hut and pedalled back toward "the world". This of course involved much more upward directional pedalling. Much more grumbling ensued of course as it was quite "warm" by now. We walked some, pushed some, picked up some sticks and used them like swords....you get the idea. Eventually we were at Bob's Ridge again and it was all downhill with a few cool creeks to ford again.

It is funny how quickly the kids outlook changes with the trail grade. They were gabbling away again and loving it!

Back at the car we took a small breather before heading down the Thredbo Valley Trail toward ice cream. I was going to ride back and get the car afterward but for now we would check out this trail. I thought I had read somewhere that it was accessable to mountain bikes. It quickly became apparent that whether or not it was legal to ride this trail, it wasn't a particularly rideable. The kids were coping remarkably well with the unexpected hike-a-bike that went on for about an hour longer than we were expecting.....

Popping out onto the golf course trail we were soon into Thredbo and accosting shop keepers for cold refreshments. Don't get between a thirsty 9 year old and a cold drink!

The kids were still chirpy and in fact, while I rode back to Dead Horse Gap to pick up the car, Gaz watched the kids as they did 40 (yes, 40!) laps of the local pump track. Yes,hey were counting! Not bad after 32km and 900m climbing at 5-6000ft above sea level!!

We all survived the heat and hills, having a great time in the process. The Snowy Mountains region certainly has some stunning scenery and more of it is being opened up to mountain bikers, making it much more accessible. We have a few more days here and plan to get back out there...once the little legs have recovered some! Thanks Gaz for a great day out.

Cheers.

Contrails

I have been in Bali for a few days. This is what it looks like on the way there.

Now, time for some R&R for a few weeks.

Cheers.

Welcome to 2014 !

You have got to love the feeling when you have escaped the "night before sore head" and can get out for that early new years day ride. 

Chris and I had the roads to ourselves with most cage drivers still in bed, completely munted. And what a glorious morning they were missing out on too!

Have a great 2014 everyone. I know mine is off to a great start!

Cheers.

Older, But Wiser....?

Here we are at the end of another year already! This one has gone particularly fast and has had a lot packed into it, although I am not normally much of a participant in the "NYE event" that a lot of people seem to get caught up in.

At a bit of a loose end today, I thought a final mountain bike ride for the year might be the idea and in fact managed to squeeze two rides in! The first with a mate who is making a comeback after a BIG accident in Whistler and it was great to be out. Great to see him on the bike again as well.

The second ride was a solo effort to take in the view from Mt Cotton. The colours of the Australian bush are quite dull at the moment with it being so dry but there is the odd splash of colour where Eucalypts are bursting through their old bark to show their new skin.

This can be a solid ride as there is a bit of climbing to summit the hill, but I felt like I was breezing along as I recounted some of the things that I have been involved with in 2013.

Obviously I am very proud of my family. My kids seem to be making leaps and bounds in both their education and their physical endeavours.

This has not been without some pain, with at least one broken arm and a hellish looking black eye being suffered. But they are out there, trying. And they make me proud to be their Dad.

A very special thanks to my lovely wife, who is like the glue that holds us all together. She lets me play like with the kids and gives us plenty of leash-up to a point!

As for me, this year we built another amazing mountain bike trail, Ginger Gully, and saw the MTB movement gain further legitimacy with the founding of SEQTA and the winning of quite a bit of money in the form of grants for future trail builds.

I managed to slip away for a few days at a time to indulge in some bike packing trips when work permitted and learnt many lessons and saw some amazing sights.

Work has gone from strength to strength and I thank my lucky stars that I am in an industry that I enjoy.  It may not make any money but it makes it seem less like WORK, right?

Yes, it has been a good year all round and I look forward to 2014 being even better. I have some big plans afoot for my mtbing and if everything falls into place I will let you in on them at the appropriate time.(insert wink). A motorcycle trip around the South Island of New Zealand beckons but before I can get to that one a trip to the Snowy Mountains with the kids must be seen to. 

Yep, it is shaping up to be a great year ahead and I hope yours is too.

Cheers and thanks for reading this year. May the wind be always at your back and your bottle cage always be filled with a cold one. See you all in 2014.................

Another Day At Work

Thanks to OutdoorGaz for finding this link. This is a really well put together video of the Air Tahiti operation.

I just wonder when the fun police are going to jump on this filming while at work.....?

In the mean time, enjoy.

Cheers.

Cross Training

Now, I spend a lot of time away from home with work. About 90 nights a year which means a day either side of that night at least.

That equals lots of % of the year and while away I really enjoy getting outside into the fresh air. Sitting around 3 and 4 star hotel rooms may seem glamorous but honestly it doesn't make for a good mental outlook. Every opportunity to look around the town I happen to be in is grabbed with both hands.

For the last 6 months I seem to have been grabbing lots of Townsville and Mackay opportunities. These towns are in the tropics so while southern Australia is shivering in it's ugg boots, these towns are warm and dry. So, I have been walking/running around Castle Hill in Townsville and along the beach in Mackay to help maintain what hard earned fitness I can while I am away.

This brings me in a round about way to the subject of this post, that being my shoes. My cheap Nike runners were just not cutting it on the slippery crushed granite slopes of Castle Hill. I felt an injury, maybe a uber painful knee injury, was just a matter of time if I continued to push my luck. I needed some decent trail running shoes.

But what are decent trail running shoes? I didn't know but kept an eye out for something that looked the business wherever I went.

Well, wherever turned out to be HarbourTown outlet mall on the Gold Coast about a month ago! I was dragging along at the back of the family outing, you know, the dad that carries all the bags and is looking for, no HOPING for, a crazed gunman to suddenly open fire so that everyone has to run away. Yep, that was me.

Anyhoo, we wandered into a North Face outlet shop where some trail running shoes caught my eye. How did I know they were trail running shoes? Well, I took a punt as they had great knobs under them like a tyre on a dirt bike and looked "runner-ish" on top. The next thing that caught my eye was the "over 50% off" price tag. I don't do discounts that don't at least start with a 5, so this was looking good.

Cutting to the chase, I decided to try a pair of North Face Ultra Guide (I just found this link, no research was done beforehand!) runners. They had to be better than what I was using....right?

I have been using these shoes now for about a month and have to say I am very impressed with their performance, especially as I know nothing about running or running shoes! They are very light and comfortable on the foot. The tread on the sole grips like shit to a blanket on the super-slippery crushed granite slopes of Castle Hill. So much so that I have not had one slip, not even a slight slip-grip even while running downhill. That in my books is awesome!

I assumed with the level of grip provided that the lugs might be showing signs of stress, especially after use on sealed surfaces as well. This isn't proving to be the case with no wear evident at this stage with about 50km on the shoes.

Who would have thought I would have any interest in trail running but here I am, getting out at every opportunity that I don't have access to two wheels and raising the heart rate. Oh, and having fun!

As a riding buddy of mine says its great to have the fitness to say "lets go hiking or riding or running or whatever" whenever you might like to and actually be able to do it. Not many 40 something year-olds can do that in this day and age. These shoes are a great addition to my arsenal of gear that lets me stay active and at this stage I would recommend them as no nonsense trail shoes.

Cheers and thanks for reading.