Coppermine epic au!

Billed as the Karapoti for those who can actually ride (not really I just made that up) I was really looking forward to the Coppermine epic. With 40k of big climbs, big downhills and some tasty technical riding what's not to like?

After a epically brutal week of night shifts I got a couple of hours kip on Friday afternoon then packed the car for the drive up to Nelson. Heading up through the Huranui then over the Lewis pass reminded me why I moved down South, its an amazing bit of the country. Truly epic. Arriving in Nelson pretty late the Colonel secret herbs and spices (and growth hormones, Mmm) called for some last minute carbo loading. As always in Nelson the day started perfectly with clear skies, sun and not a breath of wind. After getting lost finding the start (thanks search and rescue for pointing me in the right direction!) it wasn't long before I was lining up for the race start.

The race started with a grassy loop (which I dominated with my mad cross skills) then on to the Maitai river trail (where I quickly faded) before heading up a steep forestry road to the Dun mountain railway. For a history lesson czech out http://www.coppermine.co.nz/history.htm

This continued on to 3rd house where us epic riders turned left onto a mofo climb to Fringe hill summit while the enduro course kept going along the Dun walkway. Climbing to 793m it was a real test of the lungs and legs. Even in the granny (which is still an epic worthy 28t ) there was the odd bit where I had to leg it as it was a little greasy from recent rain.
As I approached the summit the tunes started and I met the welcome site of the Santa Cruz Fringe Hill bar. Beer was on offer and in keeping with bushlove style I went for a ginger.

From here it was onto Black Diamond ridge a technical, rooty slippy and generally awesome bit of track. For those Wellington riders think of a slightly rougher version of Mt Lowry however just like everything in the South island better. I thought I was riding alright till I had nice over the bars 180 pike giving the hinge a good bruising.From here the track joined back onto the Dun Mountain railway and onto the Coppermine belt. Quite a bit of work has gone into the trail since I was last in Nelson so it was big-ring climb up to the Coppermine saddle. From here it was all downhill on what was initially a fast flowing track with some epic draining ditches then on to a shortened version of boulder valley. After ~500m of epic gnar where a couple of locals gave me the good news the track smoothed out again to some lovely flowing native bush singletrack.

I gave the invisible bar ends and the big ring a good workout trying to catch them again but that boat had sailed and I crossed the line in 2:25 and a solid top 10 finish.

Well done to the organisers for a really enjoyable and well run race. Also a big up to Santa Cruz NZ for getting behind the race and even putting up a Heckler as the major spot prize. Gets the Bushlove racing seal of approval. To anyone who missed this epic race don't do it again as its probably the best xc course in NZ.

In other epic news I've been doing some other racing down South this year

The year started with the first round of the South Island series where I was bridesmaid to some punter called Justin Leov. My only consolation was he said I wasn't complete shit at downhill. No longer can Slacky mock me.

Next up was the x-stream, x-scenic in Timaru. I had a great battle with local Chch pro Dale again finishing second (if you don't count the 3 underage riders who destroyed us both). Not only was I showered in glory but also cash which I used to buy some beers and nachos overlooking Caroline Bay, EPIC.

Finally the good people at singletrack Canterbury have been running a local hill climb series which I again finished a distant podium in.

Everythings bigger in the South island. Czech out out fishes.

The KFC where I bought my first mountain bike from.

Today tomorrow Timaru. Pro XC hunting ground.

See you punters at Karapoti in a few weeks.

Nick

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Slacky's NI Cup round up

As the mighty Bushlove's sole competitor (save a token cameo by goldenshanks in Tokoroa)it fell upon my mighty track-building muscled shoulders to shower us in Glory
Despite many yearnings from within the ranks of Bushlove, seeds of dissension were sowed by many emailed bleatings and whinges about the nationals. Such things cannot sully my love of the nationals and the myriad of different track styles, and as such I alone stood proud at the finals with my mighty 4 point lead over Jonty Taylor in the much esteemed Master 1 category.

The first race of the NI series was in Tokoroa on a track partly designed/built by Mikey Northcott. Track was plenty of fun, with some madcore hucks and some XXXtreme northshore.
The old guys have to start in a wave behind the youngies in this race and as such we had to barge our way thru a heap of them racing up the long first section of track. Cabin was long gone and had like a half lap lead after 3 minutes. I smashed goldie for the first half lap, then felt sorry for him and let him past. Noticed the freak, sorry Garth, behind me on lap 2. In yet another kind move, I eased up on a slight downhill 4wd section and let him spin past. I sat behind him for a while, but couldn't stand of the sight of him, so let him go further up the track. My back was giving me a bit of gip but like the mighty Bushlove soldier that I am I get on trucking. Noticed another freak catching me on the last climb on the 3rd lap, but gapped him when I once again deathgripped the final DH and flew down over the jumps. I maintained a good gap on Marcello going up the fireroad, but once into the climbing singletrack, he gained on me, part cos I was climbing like shit with a knaff back, and part cos he was running up the climbs on his SS. Pulled a bit back out on the DH, and he pulled back anytime it went back up. Old buggar was riding hot. Up the last climb and I just buried it, went deep deep into the pain box, so he was 20m behind me by the top. Here I knew I was safe as wasn't anyway catching me on the final DH. I released my inner DH'er and hucked like mad with fingers nowhere near my brakes. thankfully I didn't even realise that he was in M2. 4th in M1, behind Cabin (burglar) Leishman, Jason (goldenshanks) Goldie, and Garth (Freak) Weinburg.

I tripped up to Hamilton with Young Cam, Younger Tom tom, and youngest Jonty, being over a decade older than everyone. We pre-rode the track and it was fun....ish. Not the best place to just ride, but I could see how much fun it was going to be to race.
I thought it was a tad disappointing that Paintrain was only able to field 2 racers at their home race. Poor form. Even I was able to get up and race, sick with the flu as I was(filled a shopping bag of Tissues).However on the start line, this time in a wave ahead of the grommies, some heady banter was had. The start whistle went and I displayed what the other racers where really there to see, my fat arse being in front of them. I decided to let young mr Earnshaw past, as I liked the pale blue top he was wearing, not cos he was faster or anything.
(blatantly stolen from RussS on Vorb)
I also let Focker form the paintrain get close, but not too close, cos he was a dirty Hamiltonian. For some 500 odd corners and 3.5 laps we held this position. However the flu was catching up with me and I was feeling it. I went wide on one corner and made love to a haybale. Unfortunately this stoppage cracked me and I had nothing. Shortly after Focker came past and I couldn't go with him. I did however limit the time loss, and trailed in behind him for the win on M1.


(blatantly stolen from RussS on Vorb)
Putting Bushlove on the podium where it should be. Young Tom tom got edged outa 3rd by a local on the last lap of his race, Cam struggled with no hills and a stuffed back, and Jonty managed a whole 2 corners on the first lap before taking him self out.

I ditched the boys for the Vegas trip and took a hot chick with me instead. Still suffering a bit from the flu the week before, I knew glory would still be mine in some form.
The Vegas track was heaps of fun and some nice wee tricksey bits, some cool jumps, cool berms and mad hucks.
This time we started with the grommies. This was not a problem as they all took off up the hill like scalded cats. I'm pretty sure I went backwards with the slowest start of my life. Garth was long gone, and I was sitting in 2nd. Jonty and Focker were somewhere behind me. Start of the 3rd lap and Jonty Taylor went past me, I stuck with him, not wanting the elastic to break as with him finishing behind me at each race by one spot, things where still tight for the overall. a few corner later and the elastic broke. He was riding a awesome race and I wasn't. Focker in M2 went past in the 4th and again I couldn't go with. going up the switchbacks the last time and I saw Jonty uphead stalling and flaffing. I thought to my self he's toast, hammer down and catch him. Only to find 3 sec's later that I was also toast and the speed I was going was it. Kept the hammer in on all the downs, and really ripped the last time down Exit trail, cos you just never know. Well I must have known, but luckily for Jonty his puncture happened right at the end and could stay in front of me. Freak 1st, Jonty 2nd, and myself 3rd.
This got me 1st in the NI series by a huge 4 points. Epic win.

Mad mad props to Mildie and Hamish and all the other people making this series awesome. they've been doing an awesome job. And mad props to the racers as well for showing up and making the races fun with competition. Shame on those who didn't.

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Support the Top Guns of Bushlove

You can spend all year training to be the Top Gun, but there eventually comes a time where you must put those skills to test on the battlefield. The men of Bushlove Top Gun are on standby, with battle set down for this Saturday 27th February. Our foes have flown in from throughout New Zealand. What will you say when your grandchildren ask about the Raboplus 2010 Mountain Bike National Championship Battle?

Latest intelligence says the combat is set to occur on the slopes of Mt Victoria. The best place to view the dogfights between the invaders and the brave men of Bushlove will be on the saddle of Mt Victoria (on the below map where the Mt Victoria tunnel crosses underneath Alexandra Road).


View Larger Map

We have managed to intercept the battle plans of the invading force and have our pilots ready, we can now share our battle plans with you.

At 1000 hours the first battle will commence – Code name “XC Age Group Races”

Squadron Masters 1 – Tony “Tiger” Keith, Ricky “Slacky” Pincott, Jason Goldie, Davo “Maverick” Aldred

Squadron Masters 2 – Clive “Angry” Bennett, Jonny Waghorn

The second battle of the day will commence at 1400 hours – Code name “XC Proelite”

Squadron Proelite – Dave “Monolith” Sharpe, Edwin “Fastest Man” Crossling, Alistair “Iceman” Crossling

Our intelligence informs us that the invaders jets (aka mountain bikes) don’t work well in noisy conditions. So make some noise!

Bushlove is also fighting off the invaders with other members of the PNP airforce, be there to support all pilots from Wellington!

More info can be found at www.mountainbikefestival.co.nz

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Sharing the Lulz - Beginners Outing at Makara

To add some flavour to the official Bike To Work day on Wednesday, Tiger Keith organised an introduction to the Makara Peak mountain bike park for some cobbers from his place of work/sleep, the Dept Of Trade & Enterprise.

Everyone met up after work at the Makara car park and Bushies, Wonderwoman, Angry and Davo joined in to help exhibit the finery of the Koru and Lazy Fern trails. They were joined by novice keeners; Rachael, Bex, Emma, Mike, Sunil, Richard and Carrie.

Although the trails are designed for beginner level mtbers, the Bushies were slightly nervous and amused to see that Bex had a large town bike with 1 inch semi slicks, and Emma had slicks on her mtb. "Whats the worst that could happen?" they asked themselves. Once the images of rescuing people from underneath their town bicycles had been pushed aside, we headed down the trail and over the bridge onto Koru.

Everyone rode really well especially Bex on her epic 29er machine. She was right up front - Go you good thing! Rachael had a spiffy brand new Trek and she was loving getting it off road too.

We cruised up Koru to the skills area for a play. Davo did some poorly executed 3 inch jumps and many dudes and dudettes had a crack at the see-saw. It was drizzling quite a bit, but this failed to dampen anyone's enthusiasm and the group headed round to Lazy Fern for the epic rampage back to the car park.

Everyone loved Lazy Fern and the switchback corners and once everyone got into the rhythm the damp summer air was filled with 'whoops' and 'woots' as our intrepid new mountain bikers experienced some great downhill singletrack - the real mtber's crack.

We finished off with some banter and feesh and cheeps. A great evening's entertainment.

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Valentine's day in Rotovegas

With the final round of the N-Duro Summer Series being on the same day as Valentine's day, you would think all the romance would be put on hold for some bike racing. But Bushlovers know how to ride their bikes with the same passion they… (this sentence has been removed for the safety of innocent minds)

Now this year Cabin has taken on the responsibility of designing the N-Duro courses. It would be fair to say he left the best till last – good job Cabin. With all the usual suspects present and most riders being in pretty good form (with the nationals just around the corner), this all combined to create a great race. To get into the Valentines spirit, the trails were warm and damp… hurr hurr…

So lining up for Bushlove were Mono, Goldie, Mr Al and Mr Ed. It turned out to be a successful day with Mono, Goldie and I all having great rides. Unfortunately Mr Ed is still not 100% after his failed stunt attempt from the first race, so he has to now suffer the gloating of his brother who bet him on the day. Oh yes, I have been letting Edwin know!

Mono cruised round in true sifty fashion for a pretty impressive 4^th place (behind Mikey, Cabin and Stu). Goldie stormed round to also go top 10 with an impressive 8^th place that will strike fear into his fellow M1 competitors for the upcoming nationals. I finally had a race I couldn't moan about, rolling over the line in 11^th (someone from Bushlove must always take the 11^th place, it was my turn this time). Despite not feeling that crash hot (no pun intended… or is it?), Mr Ed also finished in the top 20.

This race also saw the debut of my new racing wardrobe. Being a metrosexual strawberry blonde, I must look my best no matter what.

And the week didn't go without its romance. Being the true gentleman Mono is, he boldly stole Cabin's latte for his lady. Cabin didn't even try to steal Mono's coffee for Nic. I think Nic needs to have words with her man.

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Godfather Of Wellington XC

In addition to his recent profile in Spoke, Wellington's Godfather of cross country mountainbiking got an article in Hutt News.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/local/hutt-news/3333775/His-commute-a-total-beaut

Godfather is responsible for the excellent PNP Spring XC Series and bringing the National Championships to Wellington, amongst other things.

He is also responsible for rule-breaking atrocities like wearing boxers with his running shorts.

Good job Marco!

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Office Workers Break Free in Wellington CBD!

One great thing about living in the city is the proximity of Mount Victoria's singletrack for the odd cheeky lunch ride. There is sometimes a good few of us, but with Angry forgetting his shoes, T-Rex forgetting his bike, and BGA licking stamps it was just Toner-Broner and I for the lunch ride today.

We did a very warm lap of the Mount Vic race course. Instead of doing two laps, we indulged our feminine sides with some post-climb gasbagging to take up the time instead. Tones was out on his singlespeed for a change and did a good job of bettering me up most climbs.

Turns out we climb our singlespeeds much like we make love. Tiger doesn't like to chat, and raises the pace to ensure he finishes first, claiming "I just can't go that slowly". Whereas I am a steady grinder. Happy to exchange a few pleasantries and more than happy when I am beaten to the summit.

The Mount Vic race course which has been designed for the National Champs at the end of February, is a real cracker. Lots of very good singletrack, including some new bits thanks to the Godfather and handy Bushies, Al and Slackboy. It has the cracking little Badminton Hall singletrack and the fabulous Ski Slope among other little trail gems. It also has a few beastly climbs, but luckily they are not that long, and its probably only me who finds them beastly, as I am 10kg more than everyone else on the team. Except Slackshanks, but he carries most of his weight in his calves and biceps, which is actually useful for trail building an destroying people round the velodrome on the first lap.

On the way back we decided to cruise along the waterfront, where we hoped not to have our progress hindered by too many skimpily clad, busty lovelies.... The plank near the rowing club looked too good to pass up. I only had my rad Top Gun grutz and T-Bronnar had to suffer the indignity of disrobing in front of the assembled bridge crowd and unshouldering his bibs, which to the non-cyclist are the very height of gay.

Tigs wowed the crowd of slightly underage girls and overweight office workers with a stunning back flip and I performed a conservative accountant's dive. I lost my Maverick grutz off one leg in the water but luckily hooked them on my toes with the other.

The water was lovely. Summer is here at last. "Nothing like Wellington on a good day". Of course it crapped out again today and I wore my down jacket to the shops.

Davo

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Return to Vegas

After the failed canyon bike jump by Stuntman Ed in the last round, it was time for Bushlove to make amends at the second round of the N-Duro summer series.

This round saw the much talked about debut of Toner Broner with his ginge Turner… sorry it’s not a ginge bike, I’m told it’s COPPER (yeah and I’m strawberry blonde!). Joining him would be Dave Mono Chops Sharpe and the Metrosexual Strawberry Blond (not Ricky, me). It was shaping up to be a good old proelite dance off.

Being a proelite racer means you must do all things proelite. This meant proelite pie eating in Levin (Tiger thought he’d shout everyone a pie, but ended up eating them all). Levin witnessed a proelite pie massacre on Friday night – and Davo wasn’t even involved! After such a proelite dinner, it was time for some proelite karaoke. I was unchallenged as I belted out Britney Spears and Rihanna as we rolled along the Desert Road. Don’t worry what you heard was not a cat being tortured, it was proelite karaoke at it’s finest.

Eventually we rolled into Rotorua, but did not arrive at our lovely accommodation (thanks Helen and Dean – many apply for the honour, but Bushlove only stays at five star accommodation like theirs) until Tiger had found a KFC. KFC was closed, so we went through the McD’s drive through where Tiger tucked into an upsized combo (but with diet Coke as he is an athlete of course). Our hosts Dean and Helen almost sent out the search party as it took us an hour from arriving in Rotorua to actually get to their house. But if Tiger wants fast food, we must obey his instructions.

Saturday was a busy day for Rotorua. The place didn’t just smell like rotten egg, Ragga Muffin was in town so it also stunk of weed. Without Reggae Ricky, we had to pass on that event and go for a mountain bike ride instead. All had a perfect day out on the trails as we sifted around.

Roll on Sunday: race day! Cabin had put up a solid course with plenty of hills in the first half and the addition of a secret little track: Doctors Orders (lots of drifty, rutty fun!).

We all got off to a good start with Mono leading the way. Towards the top of the course, I decided that I should go appliance shopping and picked up a fridge. It made for difficult riding as I rode round the course in a not-so-proelite fashion.

Tiger was racing his ginge Flux for the first time and was making a good job of it. It must have been his lucky race number 11. He was the second fastest female after getting passed by the winning women near the end. Unfortunately for Tiger, he did not take a wager on beating me - so while I got smoked, Tiger still owes me a bike clean

Meanwhile, Mono was cruising around in a leisurely fashion picking up a 7^th overall for his troubles. He also brought extra glory on Bushlove by wearing the singlet and stubbies combo onto the podium. Wannabe proelites should take note; this is the proper attire to wear on the podium.

Fastest Man was also in Vegas, but hid behind his smokescreen (Mariska) all day. No mad stunts for Mr Ed this weekend, but he will return and promises to land the first triple back flip on a mountain bike before this season is over.

The third and final N-Duro race is just around the corner. Valentines day will see Bushlove send up another team of lover boys to make out on the Rotorua single track. Stay tuned for a romantic Valentine’s Day special!

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Karapoti Loop - Akatarawas

Tiger was pushing for a Karapoti loop to get the route in his head before the big event on 6th March. Much like Tiger's johnson, the group was small but distinguished, and at 8.40am Me, Tigerbroner, Cam Wood and Lanky Tim Wilding headed off from the trail head.

The weather was actually very good. Not too clear, but warm enough, and no rain. The rain from the previous couple of says meant that all the way to McGhie's Bridge was a puddle slalom, and we figured the ruts later on would be pretty deep too. Fortunately I spurned fashion and rode with my front and rear Crud Guards ftw.

I was pretty chuffed at managing to jog with the SS all the way up Deadwood without a pause. But then was told it was Warm Up climb and Deadwood was next. Tones and Tim rode Deadwood pretty well but Cam and I struggled for traction and gears and took the leisurely hiking option.

After hammering along the rollers we stopped for a feed at the top of the Rock Garden. We stopped for a bit to check out some lines on the first rock drop. The left line was steep but straight forward and Tim and Tones took that one, but it did nearly fully compress their forks. I had no shock so figured that line would compress my arms, shortly before I compressed my mug into the rocks.


We tried the right line too which once you lined it up was pretty good, although easy to grind yourself into the mud bank, as ably demonstrate by Tigs and Cam, although sadly split seconds after these shots.



Next up was Devils Staircase. This was the only time on the loop I could keep up with Lanky and Tigs. My SS is lightish and easy to carry, and I don't mind being on my feet. I reckon how you tackle this climb has a big effect on your race time. IMHO it is worth including some hard yacker carry climbs in your training if you want a good time. Otherwise your bikey calves might shit themselves. Know how best to carry your machine too. Special mention to Tigerbroner - He aced some very hard, steep, technical sections on Devil's in the saddle, and made it look easy. Nice work.

After another feed and no small amount of jawboning, we headed along the next rollers and Big Ring Boulevard. After making waves across the river, we started plugging away up Dopers climb. The boys rode off and I proceeded to walk about 95% of the climb and had to nail a couple of gels as I became more feeble.

How I look while walking Dopers.

It was great to get into the descent back down to the valley and slalom some more puddles back to the trail head. While changing, everyone was very jealous of my new grutz. My brother Jim sent some Top Gun grutz from the UK as a Christmas pressie. I have 'Maverick" across my ample arse. Not gay at all.


I think rides with rivers and creeks are always more rewarding.

A good ride. Including generous feed and recovery stops we did it in 4.5hrs. Conditions were no worse than normal, which was a surprise. Apart from harmless puddles the track was riding great. Maybe I've just never ridden it in good conditions? I'm looking forward to heading back with some gears as I'm not able to make a dent in the Karapoti climbs on my 34:17, and am too pompous to reduce the ratio.

Chalk and cheese.... mmmm, did someone say cheese?...

We had another feed at Macca's before heading to the Bike Hutt for a nosey. Mike had a big range of machines to perve at and I fantasized about having one and not finishing my rides at the back of the bunch with sore wrists. Mike also had some interesting steeds including an oldish school Yeti DH with Shimano Airlines shifting, and one of those Belt Drive singlespeeds from Spot Brand. Czech it out next time you are passing through Upper Hutt. I also learned that there are some mentally (but clearly not physically) challenged individuals riding CX bikes at 'Poti this year. Good luck to them!

Another weekend, another cracking outing.

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Evel Ed Knievel

This weekend saw the Bushlove stunt team head up to Vegas for some skids at the first of the N-Duro Summer Series races. Angry Clive, Mono, Mr Ed and I lined up for 45km of good old fashioned skids and wheelies in the Whaka-something-or-other forest. Rotorua is not blessed with the balanced climate of Wellington, so the trails were exceptionally dry and dusty.

As the race began it became pretty obvious that you didn't want to follow someone who loved their rear brake. I unfortunately got one such character for most of the first few km's of singletrack, which made for interesting times. Is there are corner or drop coming up? Who knows, all I can see is a dust cloud. The added advantage of this loose dusty surface was the lulz to be had whenever you hit a corner, or in some cases it wasn't funny at all and you just hit the deck. Add in a bit of overgrown blackberry and arms and legs were going to get a scratching...

Blood on the Turner... it was a tough battle!

Not to be out done by silly skids and drifts in the dust, Mr Ed decided that it was time to step up the stunts and attempted the leap of death on No Brains. For those who have not ridden with Mr Ed, you should be aware of his riding style: Death or Glory!

Mr Ed attempts his jump and ends up looking like...

Lucky for Stuntman Ed, good sports Ash Hough (Ash got to witness the whole stunt) and Mono were on hand to help him out. He had a bit of a sleep just after his failed stunt, so wasn't looking to good. Luckily the latest news is that Ed is relatively undamaged and will be back on his bike in no time.

As for the Bushlove stunt men who kept their wheels on the ground:

Angry has a storming ride to win the Masters

Mono and BGA spent most of their race day helping the wounded (both bikes and riders), so didn't get the results their fine pedigree entitles them too...

In a fortnight, stunt men Evel Ed Knievel, Mono, Tiger and BGA will be back in Vegas. Ed will attempt to jump his bike through a ring of fire!

See you in Vegas for more skids and lulz!

p.s. Ed is actually quite lucky and relatively unharmed considering how big a crash he had. A big thank you to all those who sent messages of support and a big thank you to Ash Hough, Mono and the N-Duro team for doing a great job helping Ed out.

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Breaking News, Bushman down!!!

One of the Bushlove riders has had a major stack in round 1 of the NDuro Series. Suspected broken eye socket, currently in hospital.

Watch this space for updated info!

Reporter: "Eye Of The Tiger"

--------------------------

Update:
15:10
Fastest Man
Latest news: Just KO'd himself and has a decent black eye and some good grazes.
Can't keep a Good Bushlover down.

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Long Live The King! - BOP Excursions

Kingfish that is, read on...

Hot, Hot, Hot! It's been a great family holiday away with some big boys toys thrown in for good measurse. Fishing, Mountian Biking, Road Cycling, BBQ's, Hot Beaches, Games with the Family and tearing it up in the Old Man's Ford Falcom XR6.
Ate too much before Christmas had even started, BMI equation = Xmas Ham, Pav, Beer ADD TO CART. Any chance of a decent place at Nats REMOVE FROM CART, I'll deal with that in the new year ;)

Fishing:
5 of us taking 2 boats out from Tauranga Harbour Mouth. It was a 5:30am start packing the cars and boats ready with large Chilly Bin for ALL the fish we were to catch. That was half right! Boat No.1 (Which I was in had little success) my uncle blamed this on me having sunscreen on my hands when baiting the hooks... fishermans myths I tell ya! but there must have been some truth in what he said, as those without sunscreen hands came home with a couple of decent Kingfish, Kahwai, Gurnerd and a Baracuda (Roars of laughter when my stupid brother brought the Cuda into the boat, razor sharp teeth snapping at everyones feet)















Not sure Tyler was that impressed with the Kingy

Mountain Biking:
Oropi MTB Park -
GREAT single track with a decent pump track at the bottom of "The Pines". A good variety of Grade 2-5 level tracks with burms and jumps everywhere. I'd give it a 3 1/2 star rating, problem being is if you're a cross country rider you would get bored quick as the ridable area is smallish, I rode around most tracks in about 1hr 30mins. Otherwise fun burms and great jumps.

Tect All Terrain Park -
Tauranga are planning to open up a new All Terrain park on 1638 Hectares of land comprising largely of Forresty & Native Bush. Activities available will be mountain biking, rallying, motocross, firearm sports, 4x4, equestrian, tramping and orienteering. This is still in the planning stages at the moment with HUGE potential for some wicked single tracks in the future. If your passing from Rotovegas to Tauranga (Via Pyes pa Rd) its worth a stop in and chat to Jarron the park ranger who might even point you in the right direct of some trails. Freindly bastard gave me directions and a walkie talkie if I got lost, I was called "Mobile Tony" ok that was a little boring but was fun playing bushman for the day.
http://www.westernbay.govt.nz/Major-Projects/TECT-All-Terrain-Park


The Turner Flux Christmas/Birthday present was awesome!!!! rode like a dream. Pics below but am sure you'll all see it in the flesh next race (Enduro rd2 & 3, Nationals & Karapoti) Unless wife drops the sprog on race day then I might have to miss one ;D



























F&*king HOT bike!
Also went for a bit of a skid around the Nduro course in Vegas to prepare for the Round 2 on-slaght. A couple of hours of single track included Direct rd, Sidewinder, Lentil Link, Hill rd, Frontal Labotomy, Billy T, G Rock, Roller Coaster, Old Chevy, Blah Blah back to the carpark (Thanks for the directions Cabin ;)

Road Cycling:
Reid Rd, did a couple of road rides while I was up that way as Joel my coach suggested I do Reid Rd. A bit of ahill climb in the BOP, good fun except I got the start finish places posts wrong and ended up with a little extra climbing, oh well shit happens.

BBQ's, Hot Beaches:
The Mt turned on another stunning day so Jacinda (My wife), Tyler (My daughter) and I cruised down to a friends house on the beach front for a morning of relaxing, building sand castles and playing in the waves.

Lollipops Play Ground:
Loads of fun for Tyler & I here. Had a good 2 hours playing games with Tyler on the bouncy castle, ball pit, merry go round, play kitchen and much more... tired me out while Lil T was amping by the end (The energy of youth I tell you!) need to direct her energy onto a bike soon :D



















Right then so back to Wellies where there will be some hard training, DIY (Building a wardrobe in Tyler's room) and eating a whole lots less...:)

Take care all, and may 2010 serve up wicked trails, great friends and Naked Orange Picking Dutch Babes.

Tiger

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Long Live The Queen! - Marlborough MTB Excursions

Yo!

Hope you are all having a nice Christmas break and getting in the odd ride. I am spending the Christmas break in Blenheim staying with my father outlaw, Geoff Palatchie. Geoff and his brothers used to be gun trackies in the 70's and had NZ Titles. He has vintage Francesco Coppi bikes in the rafters of his garage. Pity they are too small for me.

I have only been out on the bike three times, which is still a lot for a part-timer like me. I did a couple of rides in the local Wither Hills, and did the Queen Charlotte Track from Anikiwa to Punga Cove (in peak season you cannot ride to Ship Cove). Here are my brief ramblings...


I really enjoyed the QC Track. There were plenty of steep hard climbs and I had to get off a few times which I wasn't expecting. There were some good long downhills too - but you do have to watch for walkers. Highly recommended. Check out this website, which is the official track website, if you fancy planning a trip.

Check out my amateurish presentation of my day. You can right click 'watch in youtube' or click our youtube link on the top link bar as well.



I Googled for what to do for a spin whilst in Blenheim and found the website of the Marlborough MTB Club. It is not often updated, but did have a page with some route info. I also picked up a trail map at a local bike shop, a friendly Avanti Plus, who also lent me some headset spanners for my vintage steed.

There is a mountain bike park here. Unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. I think the driver behind the park was to create somewhere riders would have right of way. It must be difficult around here as there would be a small pool of willing trail pixies. There is no bush or tree cover, so there is no moisture (hence 'Wither' hills!). The trails are baked hard, featureless paths. I thought I would do the trails marked as 'Extreme', including one called 'Twister'. It was far less interesting and challenging than some easy tracks at trail parks like Makara. I was lucky enough to get something in my eye, so did the descent with one eye closed, upping the interest.





There is a route called the 'Mount Vernon Traverse' which looked like a good outing with rolling climbs over mostly gravel 4WD and farm tracks. A clockwise loop of the Withers, topping out at 422m on Mount Vernon.





It was a good outing for getting great views across Blenhiem, the vineyards, and across to the Kaikoura Range to the South East, and the Richmond Forest Park to the West. The views kept the interest up, but there is no technical riding of any kind on this 19km loop. But I would do it if stuck in Blenheim for a bit. The GPS of it is here.

I only brought my vintage 1990 Nishiki Ariel down with me. It has been excellent. An awesome cruising bike. I should do a write up on it soon.

Off to a vineyard for lunch.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Happy trails!

Davo

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Merry Bushlove Christmas

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Naked Dutch Orange Picking - Rotovegas Lulz Trip

The Vegas weekend had been eagerly anticipated. It turned out to be one of the best weekends for a long time. It was a good break from the Wellington climate. Even when it was raining it was warm. The traction on the flowy, well made trails was inspiring and even rank amateurs like us felt like XC (with some internet All Mountain) legends as we hooned around some of the best trails we had ridden.

Go get a cuppa.... Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin...




The cast:

Sharpie, Angry, Tiger, BGA, Rammer, Conners, Davo, Hayden, Goldie, Fastest Man (+ smokescreen, Mariska), Cabin, T-Rex and Hardman.

Old school comm's to save cell phone bills.

Space constraints meant Mono had to be aggressively packed.

Tiger's phone comes with a lame little pen.

We romped up on the Friday morning, via Macca's in Mana and Liquorice Cafe in Turangi (two lunches for worm-ridden Rammer) to arrive in Vegas ready to ride in the avo. Only Fastest Man, Mono and Al went riding. The remaining Spartan's bravado wore off immediately and after some wheelies and bike tests, we ate, drank and lulzed it up in the pools with some awesome macho challenges like one-legged long jump comps (win for Davo) and underwater swimming (well done Rammer).

Moar than one lunch is plain greedy

With Whacko still chasing young girls in Canada we needed a young courier who we could be sure would crash in front of us to provide the entertainment. Hayden didn't disappoint and pulled a stoppie to faceplant in front of the cabins during dinner. After dinner and removing gravel from Hayden, we hit the hotties and burned holes into naked dutch orange picker girls and their mums for a while, before hitting the hay.

Saturday dawned with a modest amount of drizzle and a lot of noise coming from cabin #5, as Hayden, BGA and Tigerbroner fixed each other's Morning Glory's. We met Cabin, Tim and Goldie at the Waipa carpark and hit the trails.

The trails were fantastic. Some of he guys are old hands in Vegas, but some had done very little, and it became abundantly clear why people make such regular pilgrimages up there. The trails were all well formed, had excellent features and flowed like a harpoon daily and nightly. We headed up to the top about three times, with the group mostly divided into the Guns and the Sweaty Pelaton.

Tigs rails the berm puling a mean little weasel face

"Tigs 1 to Tower, permission to do a fly by" - "Permission denied, Tigs 1".

Tigs does it anyway. Like Maverick FTW.

We did these trails:

Tahi, Creek, Piglet/Pig, up Katore Road to Gunna Gotta, then A-Trail, Tickler, up Direct Road (loose 4wd climb) then into Frontal Lobotomy, before more 4wd, to Tuhoto Ariki/Hatupatu (great trails, a rooty muddy contrast to the other trails), then back up to hit Billy T, then G-Rock and Roller Coaster. Up the hill once more to do Huckleberry Hound and Corners. Then we did Dragon's Tail before heading out.

We did lots of bike swaps which was cool. People took rides on Davo's rigid singlespeed and realised how hard he was. Davo rode people's fullys and realised just how easy it was. Everyone enjoyed sledding down the hills on the Stumpy (review coming).

Mr Ed rides Davo's SS - Davo insists it is 'Candy Copper' and not Ginger.

It started raining quite a bit and the trails changed, which was cool. Despite the mud the traction was still very good, unlike in Wellington. You don't have to allow for slick clay etc in Vegas, you just pin it like it was dry. Unfortunately Davo's wrists and rest of body were a bit rooted and he needed to get back to the hotties. Despite having moar left in the tank, the gathered strong men decided to pull the pin too and we cruised back for more pool lulz and after some contraband pool beers and a chat with zee Germans (regretfully the orange pickers were not there), we headed to Zippy's for tea.

The gay scene in Vegas was excellent.

On the way out we saw Fastest Man prepping his horse for the following morning's Mid N.Island Cup in Eskdale. Fastest Man would have won the race if it were not for a navigation fail within a snif of the finish line. So whilst mildly tragic, it was an awesome ride for someone who id 50kms the previous day and went out with us, geting only a few measly hours sleep. We watched him for cleaning tips. See how FM rep's his sponsors by wearing their hat for a photo op'.




We decided to walk. We each saved about $1 each and it took an hour and was very hot. And we got shot at my this Ned Kelly junior. Classic group decision fail.



After a Zippy's feast we headed to Lava Bar. After a leisurely couple of hours and a few jugs, the numbers of young blond tourists swelled considerably. The rugged old BLR womanisers spent some time coaching NoMiddleRing Richards, preparing him for a stab at a couple of the young Swedes. Sadly he was trumped by a local old man who came along and started showing them his naked fireman calendar. Unorthadox, but he was getting the digits, so full respect to the wrinkly guy.

Davo beat everyone at pool while the assembled cooing crowds watched our stick weilding and ball banging to the evergreen musical delights of N-sync, Back Street Boys and other mildly hetro 90's bands.



We finished the evening with a trip to our friend Alexandra's place. Alexandra had three good friends there who were a little more forward than we anticipated. We were a little out of place as we did't realise it was fancy dress. The girls there seemed to have no end of outfits and kept coming out dressed as nurses, cow girls, devils and such like. We were not accustomed to all this and after being given the good news as their inexpensive outfits fell off, we pleaded and paid them to put them back on. We made a very very hasty exit... after about 4 hours.

Sunday dawned and we headed out for a proper sifty ride and Conners worked his camera magic and later prepared our latest submission to the New World Disorder 13 video auditions. Cracking job Ben! We absolutely love your work. See how we make XC cool...



The Sunday sift was one of the highlights of the weekend and Mono served up a fine few trails to finish the weekend's biking. We stopped and jawboned a lot and took a few runs at some bits to capture some on the camera. The final descent of Rockdrop and Rose garden to the finish was superb. Tones and Davo even managed to man up for some slightly 'beyond XC' riding, including a log ride which was internet 3 meters high, and a huck which was internet 5 meters high.

Dave hucks off the 5 internet meter drop.

We did these trails on Sunday morning:

Rockdrop climb, then Grinder, Dipper, then Exit Trail, then the rest of Rockdrop, then Rosebank.

Angry's elbows are messed up. What a circus freak.

We got back, struck camp and hit the pools for more epic lulz in our bibs. The pool running race was a highlight. Not least of all because it captured BGA and Mono's awe-inspiring Big-O faces.






Rammer & Dave's mate, Stu Hardman joined us for the avo, and after moar Zippy's grub and coffee we headed to the Main Event - The Luge Grand Prix.

This was the most eagerly anticipated event of the weekend. Fiercely competitive men on small tea trays, hurtling down the hill.

A high speed finishing shunt puts Tigs in the water.

The gay scene at Skylines was at least as good at at the holiday park.

We did 5 rides. Mostly on the longer intermediete run. There were extreme shenangans and dangerous tactics as riders were nudged out and put sideways at full speed. Early rounds fell to Clive, Davo and Sharpie, but after a while being at the front held no win so anyone leading put the brakes on to get back into the thick of the action! The Luge was the most fun any of us had had in a very long time. Highly recommended for sure.

Then we returned home (via a traditional kebab in Bulls- v.good) to our beautiful smokescreens and/or adult website subscriptions.

An all time great weekend. Check out the photo album here.

Till next time. Happy trails and safe exploring over the Xmas holidays everyone.

Leonidas (BLR Press Sec).

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