Back to the Future

Over 12 months since I last strung a sentence together for the Bushlove blog, I really haven’t been pulling my weight. Still, has been a rollercoaster 12months both on and off the bike. Last time I spoke I was amped on the momentum Super D was gathering, hoping to hunt down any race that showed its self and boy did I find some cool races.

A few highlights include the local Underground Super D series, which didn’t always miss the attention of those less keen on an ‘un-official’ race series; honest, just a bunch of cool kids riding really fast down a hill with a stop watch for good measure…
Super D was considered the ‘in thing’ so much they threw it in the National and Oceania Champs for good measure. Unfortunately my tires spat the dummy in both races meaning 2 disappointing DNF’s.

So what, built a bridge, got over it, then tackled the race which started it for me (Mt Vic Super D). Gunning for the win I laid it all on the line, but same as last year came up a bit short and slotted into the bridesmaid position. 3rd time lucky maybe.

It was the final race of the season I was really looking forward to though; 6hours of Super D action on the fast Queenstown tracks with a gondola to save your lungs for one of the coolest descents in NZ. One to tick off your list no matter what discipline of riding you’re into.

Even with all this Super D riding of late (and a bit of XC thrown in to keep me honest) I’ve had an itching to try something off the bike. As some of my fellow Bushlover’s have posted in the past, before riding I dappled in a bit of running. That was put to a halt 10 years ago after snapping a few ligaments in my ankle (walking like a muppet down the stairs doesn’t work).

First challenge to get me back on the scene, the Xterra Trail Run Series, right here in Wellington.
The first race was on Sunday around the South Coast area including tracks like Tip Track, Red Rocks and a few other steep suckers up to Hawkins Hill. Even with the onset of winter just around the corner, Sunday was a ripper with no wind, a mild temp and sun! After a 10year break from jogging around in short shorts and singlet’s even when the mercury is hovering around 0 degrees, I had no expectations about how I would go, or even how painful a 20k off road run really would turn out. For once standing on a start line with no pressure to perform is such a welcome change.

With 3 meaty climbs, and 3 techy descents to boot, I knew I had to get my Super D mojo on if I was to throw in a half decent performance. To save you the dribble of a never ending race report, having the Super D race face on is what made my return to running so enjoyable. I managed to hang on to the seasoned runners on the up’s but read them the good news on the way down; see, riding DH has it’s pay offs. At the same time, I admit to getting a bit carried away meaning the final 4km slog along the coastline back to Owhiro Bay was attacked with jelly legs while holding my heart in my hand. Luckily I had enough of an advantage after the hills to hold on for the win, but only just with 2nd place taking over a minute out of me along the coastline. As you can imagine, I’m stoked to start my return to running with a win and I’m already looking forward to the next race in 3 weeks out in Belmont.

Apologies for being on mute over the past 12 months, guess it finally took a satisfying win to kick my literacy skills (or lack of) back into action. After finding my running legs again and the motivation to ride the bike with anger again, I may have to look at combining them and dipping into an Xterra tri or two; but I can’t emphasise how much the swimming needs to improve. To all those concerned MTB riders out there, this doesn’t mean I have forgotten where my heart still lie’s.

Finally, I would like to thank everybody who has helped me over the past roller coaster year. Even when I was at the bottom of the hill you knew how to point me back to the top. Cheers, Ed.

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X-Terror OMG?? Nah... Xterra FTW

This was not one of my goals of the season, but sh!tballs it was fun!

Xterra is one of those races people tell you "You must do", and for a long time I had not quite got around to it. This year was going to be different, with a "little" "Very little" swimming behind me and getting back to my grass roots of running, I decided it was time.

The drive up was interesting with Ed-Winner (Fatest Man) keeping me company. The Elite nature of this race and all I had a steak, we decided to stop for a healthy meal in Bulls. Yip, you got it, quality control of the plastic food variety.

To start off I was excited to have no expectations on me for this race. No one in this race knew who I was or what I had been up to earlier in the season. That was until I found out that Cabin had a page spread in the local news paper, talking about the Xterra race and Black Dirt Racing. Reading through I realized he had dumped me in it, naming me as the "Current Masters New Zealand Bike Champ". Thanks Cabin!

Anyway sandbagging aside, its time to get down to race talk. A perfect day dawned and I was ready for what ever Xterra was going to throw at me. I had heard rumors that it was always a perfect sunny day, and I was not to be disappointed. As you drive over the hill and get your first glimpse of the lake, it becomes apparent you made the right decision to enter. There were sponsors tents up everywhere, a huge stage for the finishing chute and people milling around generally enjoying the atmosphere. Xterra is not just an event for the Multi Sporters, but also individual Runners, Mountain Bikers and Walkers alike. By 11am they had already had a run, walk and mountain bike race.

Big ups to a Rae Rae who won the Women's MTB race earlier in the morning. Nice work Rae Rae, I don't REALLY have trophy envy... much!

So with preparation out of the way and my family there to cheer me on, I was ready to go, Or was I... nothing can prepare you for the onslaught that is the start of the Xterra swim. Trying to explain it is not going to help, so I will let these pics do the talking.






























For those of you out there that want to know if the water was warm (Mainly you soft feet JAFA's). I can confirm the water was actually of a nice temperature. After 15mins sluggishly trying to hold my own in the water, it was onto the main event of the day, the Mountain Bike. I really do love this part, and I feel soo much more at home. Up the first few hills (and there were a lot of up hills). I was chatting away to the odd person who would return my conversation with a grunt, sometimes more. Struan Robertson, thanks for keeping me company on the first climb, was good to have someone to talk to. And fcuking nice result to buddy.

Into the first single track "Frontal Lobotomy" aptly named, as some might say they wish they were having a Frontal rather than climbing this grueling trail, that pinched more and more the closer you go to the top. It was about now I was starting to get into the grove. The first downhill of "Billy T" was ahead and it was time to open up the taps. I could feel the roadies just falling off at this point **. Now this is where the fun begins, take a look at the below link to a video from Xterra a few years back. You will understand the mildly amusing phrase of TRI-Podding.
Xterror TRI style

**(No roadies were harmed during the making this blog post, some maybe in the race though FTR, Some of my best mates are roadies, "Good Roadies" even, aye Angry Clive Bennett ;)

So the rest of the ride went something like this Uphill hurt, Downhill grin, Uphill hurt, Downhill laugh, Uphill laugh deliriously, Downhill finish.

Transition 2 or T2 for you T-Geeks out there. I was making good ground, just a little 11km trot around the scenic Blue Lake, can't be all that hard... Wrong! Lap 1 of 2 and I was hurting really bad, I'll even admit to walking 5 of the 22 steps. Focus I thought, you're being stupid. Back to thinking about a good relaxed running style. I could feel my rhythm come back. I may even have enjoyed part of the 2nd lap. Chugged on home for a 2nd place in my age category, 22nd over all and even qualified for Xterra Worlds in Maui, Hawaii. Unfortunately I will not be going this year, bit bloody expensive :) But I have been assured, well maybe not assured, more teased. That if we saved well enough and I "actually train properly" (Quoted by wife) next year, we might be able to go. Obviously I would have to qualify again :(

Anyway I AM STOKED with the result and race in general.

It was off to the Brew pub for some much needed Crouchers (Yes shameless punt for the sponsors) and a feed of... you got it, Sausage fest. Has Dave Aldred written all over it.

Thanks to all those supporters out there who cheered or abuse me along. I'll be back next year, with some more swim and run training behind me :)
Oh sh!t for got to mention, thanks to Cabin's camera magic I made it into the Xterra Official video. 5mins 55secs in, Orange Bikes (Tang Niner Air 9 Carbon, perfect for Xterra type races, light and nimble) and black kit (Black Dirt Racing)

Cheers
Tigs

P.S Props to my Mountain Bike technique trainer, Travis The Cat (Ease off on the catnip though buddy, that sh!t does your brain cells in)

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Dirty fantasy League - Al takes the lead

Could this be the post that tips the Bushlove blog over 100,000 views?

The "BLR DH League" with it's huge contingent of 11 team managers, has Al Crossling in the hot seat after Round One. Savvy picks from the top five. Misery in the lower ranks, hundreds of points behind with a litany of DNS and DNF failures.

Go to dirtfantasyleague, start a team and join the "BLR DH League" (PIN 1247) to compare your DH knowledge against the current small, but distinguished  array of punters.

There is a MAJOR cash prize and a set of Maxxis tires of your choice for the winner of each round*.

Good luck for round two!









* this just isn't true.

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Karapoti Take 2 2012.

Karapoti is one of those races you love to hate due to its relentless nature of climbing and rocks, its a course I always think should suit me but never really does, and in previous years I always lined up to race not for position but for time, the magical sub 3 time. However since turing the grand old age of 40 I have always wanted to win that M2 grade and for the past 2 years I have been bridesmaid to either the legend himself Trevor Woodward or Lower Hutt midlifer Nick Warring, both awesome riders who know how to ride Karapoti well, was 2012 going to be any different?.


Race day arrived and what a stunning day for a race, especially in comparision to 2 weeks prior when the weather bomb hit, as much as I LOVE an epic race in appaling conditions 2 weeks ago I would have been disappointed to finish in UNDER 4 hours as I was hoping mother nature would throw its all at me and that it would be so terrible bringing about awesome stories to bore my grandchildren with, but alas Michael Jacques saved me from myself, I digress.. The vibe around Karapoti park that morning was awesome very chilled and although I had the usual pre race nerves I lapped it up.


I was entered in Expert Class and my good buddy and NZ Representitive Triathelete Tiger had seen the potential for an Elite Top 5 finish given the Boy Wonder was hunting Lions and the Dinosaur was otherwise engaged, I mused about swapping but really wanted a crack at the M2 win.


Race start was the usual river crossing, this time I took the 2 river crossing start and liked it a lot better than the random am I going to drown crossing, I didnt get a great start as I saw the lead bunch a huge distance down the road before I sorted my junk and was in top gear.


I do love the starts to the Karapoti the smash up the gorge is huge fun and really suits my strengths so it wasnt long before I was picking off riders up the road tucking slightly in behind each one for a micro pause before launching to the next and so on until I had caught the lead bunch and sat in behind Tigs and we formed a rolling train that quickly left fresh air behind us and the remaining crowds, my new pals for the next 50mins were Matt, Dave, Alex, Tiger & Gav. We made great time up the gorge hitting the bridge in 14mins and the bottom of warmup in 21mins.


The race then turned upwards and I was loving the Niner Air 9 Carbon running Maxxis EXO Ikon out back and Ignitor out front also my doubts about running a 28/40 XTR front chainring where unfounded as I loved the gearing and didnt feel undergeared at all, in previous years on a triple I have kinda wussed out and stuck it in the granny for the climbs which resulting in just going slower, so being forced into a bigger gear helped me mentally more than anything.


Down the scree slope into the river I lost sight of my pals as my risk bar is just not high enough, I thought I was dropped until I hit warmup and started to reel Tigs back in , I managed to pass mid deadwood and at the top we were basically neck and neck, the race then pointed downwards and although I dont think im slow, im certaintly not as fast as the top 5 downhill and they soon said goodbye to me leaving me on my lonesome. (que 'All by myself.. im going be all by myself')


I often find myself becoming complacent when I have no direct competition at hand, but still forced myself to keep my eyes on the prize so rolled on at a good tempo towards Rockgarden, which I hit at 1:04 so I knew I was on for a good time, however Rockgarden was still a bit of a shambles for me and I just didnt ride it smoothly and dabbed quite a few times and got off at the large drop about mid way, this probably cost a minute or so, and something im going to work on during the year.
At Devils Staircase my little legs struggled as usual to mount the huge steps and it wasnt long before my poor descent of Rock Garden had allowed the Painting man to start nipping at my heels, at 143yrs old hes quite the legend and his love of running shows as he pounded up the staircase just ahead of me.


Out onto Big Ring , Ian paused to change the batteries in his pace maker and I pulled out a nice lead and didnt think I would be seeing Ian again, but much to my suprise was caught coming down the trail leading up to Dopers and he started to pull away downhill, I just couldnt match his pace in the corners without drifting too wide, again more practice needed here, and its good to know there are areas I can speed up on to be even faster, so thanks Ian for showing my weakness to me so convincingly.


I hit the bottom of Dopers at 1:56, so bar a mechanical a Sub 3 was a certaintity, and I spied Ian just up ahead and quickly spun up to catch, (hill climbs are not something I need to work on :-) ) I remarked that the M3 record was not looking safe this year, Ian was not so sure and had the onset of cramps, Great news!.
My ascent of Dopers was the fastest yet in 18:40 ish, but my legs where also starting to feel a bit like jelly towards the top as I caught up to another legend (and my enemy according to Alex my 9yr old) Garth Weinberg, I still dont fully understand how one can ride a Single Speed around there that fast, but there you go. Garth was pushing up some sections but I could barely ride as fast as he was pushing, my legs were approaching their limit and at the top Garth rode away from me.


I now too hard the onset of cramps with some twinges appearing in the quads, damn, probably because I only had 1/4 a bottle to drink, so dumped back another 1/4 bottle and rode through the pain down the gorge to the finish, with a keen eye behind me.


I finished up 1st in Masters 2 and 1st in the Expert class, in a time of 2:42:27, which is 3Mins and 1 second faster than my previous best in 2010, and thanks to the missing elites 6th Overall, so finally a Masters win under my belt. Stoked!.


Ian came in shortly afterwards to break his M3 record and I loved to tell him "I told you so".


But more than that I loved to hear the other riders stories, like Hiskey who busted a rear mech and Ken Feist who stopped to help him with a Single Speed conversion, costing Ken the race CX record by 10 seconds!.


Congratulations to Matthew Waghorn for the win!.. And Tiger for scoring the Top 5 (actually 4) he so wanted, his battles with Gav will be many this year I suspect, but Gav just pipped Tiger for 3rd, so well done to the owner of the cleanist bikes in Wellington Gav!.


Its good to hear post race stories from people who love to race hard but dont take the whole thing too serious, its when you take it too serious the fun goes, and once the fun is gone, whats the point.


I also love to see all the kids riding especially in the Challenge, some as young as 8yr old Mac Madsen, a future legend i predict!. And my own big fella Alex Bushlove who knocked a good 30mins off his last years time and still managed to bring back an interestingly painted rock he found mid race to show us.

Proud Dad

Medal Handerouterer Warrior Princess

Reflecting pensively at prize giving

My latest trademe listing

Thanks to Niner Bikes and Burkes Cycles in Kilbirne for the support.


Big thanks to Joel Healy for the advice and coaching, especially his cruel and brutal training sessions he knows I love so much, its much appreciated, if you seriously want to ride faster (I probably shouldnt let on), but contact Joel!..

Even Bigger thanks to Trudi, Alex and Alana for cheering me on and their support throughout the year, what a lovely family.


Thanks for reading, sorry I waffled so long.

Angry.

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Dirt Fantasy League

Attn all those who need another way to waste time on the internet.

Dirt Fantasy League Get in, join up and apply to join the:    BLR DH League        PIN 1247

Can you beat "Blackadder's Beasts"? Or squash Crossling's unstoppable "Ninja Frogs"?

Regular updates after each rounds issued here and Farcebook.

Fame and glory await you.

Or Shame and glory holes if your picks are shabby.

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And in more BREAKING NEWS

Tigs smashes this guy...




Yeah, Get some...

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How to run a Non Event 101 & Karapoti what next?

As most of you in the bike industry would have heard, Karapoti was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Gutting as it may have been for all of us that have been training hard for the past week for this event, take a minute to stop and think about how hard the decision to cancel it may have been. Knowing that there were 1000 compeditors out there amping to get on the start line. I have been in events in the past that have been cancelled due to extreme or dangrous circumstances and have been appauled at how they were dealt with post cancellation. The thing that seperates this event from the rest for me was the professional way it was dealt with, and the extent the organisers went/are going to to rectify this for us punters.

As you can see below are some examples of why it was cancelled and for good reason. Imagine what would have happened to Anton Cooper crossing the river this year???

Thanks to Craig Madsen for the Pic of Anton

Some of the Bushlove riders are still trying to consol themselves.The river levels:
Below is an email sent out from the Karapoti organsers, outlining why they made this decision and what they are going to do about compensation for it. I think you will agree they have gone out of their way to keep people happy.

“Well, what can we say except "Gutted!"

In 27 years Karapoti has never even looked likely to be cancelled. To give you an idea of the conditions out there; in last year's rain the river level readings we watch was 9 cumecs. At 10am on Saturday it was 71cumecs! The cancellation wasn't taken lightly. We've had a couple of complaints that we didn't give enough notice, but this was because we didn't want to pull the pin until we were 100% confident it was the right thing to do. Karapoti is a lot more sheltered that many of the regions affected by the storms, so the issue was river levels and the cold. Our search and rescue crews typically give aid to around 80 riders in a normal year, but in those conditions it would have been 200+ people, and with the added risks of hypothermia and no helicopter rescue being available. In the end we had to be guided by them because they are the experts. Incidently, on Sunday we know of a couple of people who went to ride the course but turned back after getting too wet and cold very early.

So, firstly to the obvious question that a few people have already been asking... We're sorry, but the refund policy is clear when you enter. Entry fees are non-refundable after Feb1. In the case of cancellation this is because despite the event not going ahead we still have to pay for it.

Secondly, to the 132 emails we've received from people showing sympathy and support, thanks so much. It means alot to us, because we know how disappointing it is for you. The nicest email was actually from a couple in Invercargill, who couldn't even go home on Sunday. We've been a tad blown away by the support and have answered every email, so thanks.

Thirdly, as we speak we are looking at organising a Karapoti make-up event. But there are alot of things to work through (concessions, volunteers, search & rescue crews etc) before we can announce anything. But it will be a free event & you'll be the first to hear when or if we get something sorted.

In the meantime, we've teamed up with the Colville Connection to offer all 2012 Karapoti riders the chance to enter the Colville Connection Mountain Bike events at half price.
2012 KARAPOTI / COLVILLE CONNECTION OFFER - Half Price Entries for 2012 Colville Connection Mountain Bike Events, this Saturday 10th March.

ENTER ONLINE AT http://www.colvilleconnection.co.nz/ - use the promotion code TS12KARAPOTI when you enter.”

Looks like the Mountain Bike season is not over yet, MEAN!

Cheers

Tigs

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BREAKING NEWS!!!! Bushlove Mountain Biker (Tiger) goes to the World Tri Champs... That's right folks, stay seated. I recieved confirmation that I have made the Team to go to the World Triathlon Champs in Auckland in October 2012. Best I start some proper Run & Swim training now eeeeeek.
Cheers to everyone for your support and advise. Biggest thanks go out the my wonderful family who have been mega supportive, love you guys.
Tigs

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B2NW & 42nd Traverse Bad Boyz weekend

Heads hung low, without our buddy ole pal Dave Aldred, we trudged on for a weekend of sad sorrow and boring times... BUT NOT FOR LONG...

Within hours of arriving in Ohakune the beers were cracked and banter had started. A likely few (Tigs, Angry, Fastest Man Ed Stealth Mode (Stephen Butterworth) & SS Ninja (Hayden Russell) had grant plans of riding the Bridge to Nowhere and 42nd Traverse in one weekend. These are two of the North Island most well know trails and mint ones at that. Day one was to be B2NW. We started off weighting bikes in and comparing XT-XTR stats. As per usual our resident light weigth Angry Bennett has been purchasing fitness at an XTRordinary rate, XTR & Carbon rate that is (The elistrious Air 9 Carbon in a stunning Tang Orange with XTR everything). Off to the Raetihi Camp ground to book our jetboat transfer back from the end of the trail. It seems that not only was Stealth Mode missing a few gears (All but one) but a few brains cells (Once again all but one) and opted for the "No boat, Sinlge Speed home after the B2NW track 144km later, what a fuckin legend)... brainless twit. (but we still think youré a bit of alright buddy ;)

Off we set for 40km of "sifting" to the begining of the trail, mainly gravel road. Pic of track stats below:

Ahead of us from here was an unknown killer hill and sweet single track. Ed going part way to insanity riding his Santa Cruz Nomad, a typically downhill bike, riding typically well up hill. Somehow within 10mins of climbing the hill I found myself sitting in the Nomad Armchair sruggling my lazy ass up the rest of the hill. I did find it pedalled surprisingly well, so decided not to give it back when it came to the first downhill :) 6 inches of travel front and rear I was loving it. Faster and faster Ed and I went down the hill until I cooked it a little too much coming out of the corner, where I played my best impersination of a chubby kid in a down hill rolly polly contest. Off into the bushes I careered. Unfortunately no injuries sorry guys :P Check out the video link below for the aftermath of the crash and days highlights.

B2NW is a must do trail, and to be honest it can be achieved by most levels of fitness, some just a little longer then others. But the vista is amazing and Jet Boat ride out is an adrenaline burst just waiting to happen.

As we arrived at the end of the B2NW, waved good bye to our Single Cell (Single brain cell) friend Stealth Mode and sped our way back to warm showers, hot wives and cool beers.

There were more toilets on this tail than Dave Aldred has had training sessions. but do you think Fastest Man could wait long enough to use one...

The only way to travel after 4hrs in the saddle

B2NW Video, Clicky Click



Day 2 dawned and we waved good bye to Angry and his lovely family. After 4 weeks on holiday they had to get home to feed the every sliming goldfish and unpack the Burkes love trailer.

42 Traverse:
We were down to 4 hard men Myself, Fastest Man, Stealth Mode & SS Ninja. SS Ninja had the most unlucky day of us all, firstly a Toi Toi whipped his handle bars from under him, sending him cartwheeling down the trail, secondly he got a flat and finally lost his camera on one of the many fast descents. Other than those unfortunate miss haps, we had a fantastic ride. Mean as fast downhills, open trails with a fantastic little pub at the end for cheap burgers and cool beer. Some of the bonuses of this trail is that it is not really technical and the start is 570 higher than the finish. That's right folks downhill, downhill, downhill.

Bit of a laugh between us lads as we arrived at the Owhango Hotel and asked for the menu we could not believe our eyes, $8 - $10 burgers and the lady behind the counter apologized for the high prices LMAO.

Chex out the 42nd Traverse stats: 42nd Traverse

So all in all it was a fun weekend with some mint as trails. Big thanks goes out to The Keith & Bennett wives who put up with our ladish behavior and did not complain for a moment. We all love you. Keith love to Keith's, Bennett love to Bennett's respectively... unless is Tuesday night "Keys in the bowl" rules apply.

Cheers,

Tigs, Angry, Fastest Man, Stealth Mode & SS Ninja

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Karingal 4hr Enduro - Dave Nearly Killed By Dinosaur

Sneaky dinosaur eats my chippies and nearly devours me.

My first event in Aussie was the Karingal 4hr Enduro. I entered the SS class and hoped to not embarrass myself too much and had a goal of riding consistently and finishing. Lofty goals for my extra light riding regimen.

There were quite a lot of people. About 140 entrants, a mixture of teams and solos. I did a pre-ride of the 7km course which was a bit tiring. It was good dry singletrack with no real climbs. Just regular pinches and short efforts. Nothing where you had to settle in. I thought I would go fairly quick at the start and see how I got on.



I took off quick and joined in with the shaved racerboys, sitting in about 12th overall. I was swinging along pretty well and was leading the SS class by a few minutes after 3 laps. One of the pinch climbs was steep and out in the open. It was baking me every time. I kept chanting "I am a solar panel, I am a solar panel" in an effort to convert the heat to energy. Didn't work.

I wiped out in a fast rocky corner on lap four and rolled into the scrub where in my mind, 1000 snakes and spiders were looking for a meal. I cut the sidewall of my tire on a rock in the process. So I sat at the side of the track with sweat dripping off my ears, nose, elbows, knees etc fixing a puncture and trying to patch the cut with tree bark and gum leaves, so the inner tube wouldn't poke out and flat again. I got going after a few long minutes and three nasty bites from inch long red ants (more near death per the title) I called them the c-word very loudly. It still hurt a lap later. At least it wasn't a crocodile.


Entirely predictable breakdown of my organic tire reinforcement. Fortunately the cut never let the tube through anyway.


I joked that 84 was my lucky number at rego. The lady asked if it was because it was my birth year. I love her.

I got going again and went quickly through a lot of riders who had passed me. I eased up a little to deal with the heat. Then I flatted again. Bad luck for sure. Two flats are quite rare. I've not flatted twice in a row for years. I was out. No more tubes. Very hot hike back in from the back of the course. Bugger.



Still a good outing and an opportunity to meet new people and ride some good trails. Next year if I get the chance, I will do a bit of training for it and try and smash the whole 4hrs and win my class. The course suited me. It was a shame to have the problems.

I hung out with the team from Fortheriders, which is a very good shop here who are involved in all the races. Their mechanic, Shaun, is also the Yeti World team mechanic and as his team mate, he had Jared Graves, former UCI 4X World Champ. It was interesting talking to him. He was superfast XC too. Those guys are not just good at jumps. Apparently 4X is not a UCI event now, so he is focusing on DH.

Not sure when I will next be racing. I am quite keen to try a bit of surfing. When in Rome...

Looking forward to getting a trail ride in at Daisy Hill tomorrow. To get it done before our trip to the Gold Coast I have to head out at 4am. I'll be first into the trails and will clear the cobwebs for the rest of the day's riders. I look forward to hastily scraping them off my face and trying not to imagine what is attached. No doubt more near death blogging to follow.

Cheers
Dave

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Tigs new Tiger ride and the PNP MTB rap!!!

Wood is the new Carbon Baby!!!

Well as Angry has pointed out the Elite course in the PNP race in the weekend was "mean as!!!!" Mamoth Climbs, Fast descents and schweeeet single track.

Now I could babble on about what KWs of power I was putting out to the rear wheel while chatting to the likes of Brendan Sharratt (Legendary Tour Of Southland KOM podium roadie), monitoring my calorie uptake and internal temperature... but I am not going to (because I would not know any of these stats :)
NB: For stats similar to these, please speak to our resident Elite rider Clive Bushlove Bennett.

Seeing as I ended any possibilities of a podium in the elite category about half way through my race with a flat tyre, I thought I would write about the perfect day and beers after the race. Was great to have a big turn out of Bushlove and Clan with Nick K making the trip up from Christchurch with Wife Sarah, Mono Sifty Dave Sharpe (Just there for a sifty ride...Yeah Right), Angry Bennett (Full time Elite rider), Wonny Jaghorn and better half Belinda The Burglar and Ed (riding his lazyboy).

Right so to tie off loose ends, thanks to all the support from friends and family (Especially my fantastically supportive wife and 2 wonderful kids Tyler & Logan who allow me to get out on the dreaded bikes). Massif ups to On Yer Bike for tinkering with my rides and supporting me (No rude at all that sentence). Niner Bikes for putting me in the cockpit of the quickest bike I have ever ridden, the Niner Air 9 Carbon (pity the pilot is a little old and slow :)

Stoked to have the Masters 1 category sewn up before race 5, giving me the chance to race the big boys in the final round. Cheers to all those in the Masters 1 cat who kept me honest Karl Paterson (side kick burglar) and Hiskey (ole fella and thorn in my side ;)

OK cereal now... PNP 2011 out of the way and I'm in "ok" form for the Taupo Huka XL race next weekend. Not sure if I am more excited about the beers after or getting out on the Niner again Mmmmm

While this is the hottest and under some motors fastest hardtail 29er on the market, there is one small fail in this photo... Those in the know will have already realized I failed in my photography/elite class, where you should NEVER take a photo of a bike while it is NOT in the Dawg...:( (Big chain ring up front)

Compulsory Bushlove graphics - Mint!

Mmmmm Carbon purity

Keep an eye out there for the Bushlove colors in the odd Triathon and definitely the Xterra (Offroad Triathlon) next April. Swimming is going great, running too but am just a little concerned about my riding ability :)

Cheers
Tigs

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No country for old men.

Heres the blow by blow from Pro Elite Round 5 of the most excellent PNP Race series in Wellington,

Hardout race start up from Mud Cycles in Karori, was myself (after putting in my usual stupid smash it till you blow race start) followed by Sharrit, Tiger and Fitzwell into Landsdowne, Sharrit and Tiger passed me and I entered into Salvation followed by Fitzwell.

Picture stolen without permission from Dave Grahame


Around rollercoaster some close racing with Sharrit and Tiger out front followed by myself Fitzwell and McCarthy making a show.

Up the big road climbs to top of Tip Track was Tiger, Sharrit then about 100m back myself followed by Fitzwell and McCarthy, Fitzwell put in a big move and screamed past me with an actual scream.

Tiger took the lead from Sharrit till the gate barrier down to red rocks where Sharrit flatted, McCarthy passed me just before the gate and beat me into the new singletrack to redrocks, however I took advantage of local knowledge and line choice and past McCarthy pulling out about a decent gap as there are a couple of tricky sections through there requiring careful pre gear selection to avoid walking, namely the bridge.

From Red Rocks and around the coast I could see Fitzwell who had caught Tiger about 50m ahead of me, Tiger also politely flatted, I threw him my pump and carried on in 2nd place after Fitzwell.

Onto Tip Track , Fitzwell had about 50m lead, still at that sort of distance where you think you can pull someone in, but alas, Fitzwell is a Tip Track specialist and quickly started climbing away from me, hitting Tip Track at race pace was tough and I struggled a bit and McCarthy caught me about midway.

Picture stolen without permission from Shane Wetzel



Into Barking emu I was running 3rd with new comer to the pointy end Murphy hot on my tail, Barking emu was running sweet as a nut, but excessive speed caused me to overcook a corner and I took a dive over the edge, luckily a not soo soft gorse bush broke my fall.

Into CarParts I was nervously looking back knowing I was being hunted down, my riding went haywire and I messed up a few times resulting with some off the bike moments, then some cramping, at the end of Carparts and onto RollerCoaster Murphy was about 20m behind me.

Time to pull out the big guns so I took a swig of my Raro and Cement Dust drink and gassed up the steep pinches around the coaster, ignoring the twinges of further oncoming cramp, as I wanted (needed) to hit Deliverance with a decent lead as im about as gracefull down there as a blind man in a wheelchair would be.

Into Deliverence I had a good lead over Murphy and had the best run down there I have ever had, it was slippy but the Niner asserts confidence, falsely or not I didnt care, but zero crashes and I was happy.

Onto the road I kept a nervous eye behind and could see Murphy and apparently Kennedy who materialised from nowhere leading Murphy up the road in good roadie style.
However being a tarmac specialist with a good lead I was home and hosed for 3rd place Pro Elite Men.

I look forward to boring my grandchildren in years too come of this day, (actual events may change,be enhanced or entirely left out).

Massive thanks too Niner bikes for making one of the sweetest race machines I have ever ridden!, and Burkes Cycles for their support and many last minute repairs/maintenance to my bikes.

Also special mention to Tristan from Wheelworks, for squeezing in a last minute spoke repair despite his huge workload.

Its been a great race series, PNP have put a huge amount of effort in this year and its much appreciated.

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G'day Cobbers !

Greetings from Brisbane me ole Kiwi cobbers!

Just got broadband finally so i wanted to get on and say hi. Everything going great here in ever-sunny Brisbane. A balmy 29deg today as I sit here supping my iced coffee. We are living about 6km out of the city in Coorparoo. Nice place. Ella is at school down the road and loving it. I am a stay at home Dad until we get a place for little George at kindy. Probably back at work in January.

We've done heaps and have seen a lot of cool places like Movieworld, Seaworld and are heading to Wet & Wild this weekend. We have VIP tickets and can go whenever we like. It was easy to get them - I told them I rolled with Bushlove, and they handed them over gratis. There is also an amazing park called South Bank which is a real jewel in the crown for families. We've made several new friends including the awesome families of mates of mine from when I was living in the states. Funny how things work out, but two of the legends I lived and traveled with both now live in Brisbane!


I have done a few rides including some great outings with new mate, Andy Macfarlane, who is also ex-Wellington and a good friend of The Editor's. He also helped train epic scooter rider, Angry Bennett, to get his first sub 3. The trails here are different to Wellington's. They lack hills, so any downhill is fairly short lived, and there is no 'bush', mostly dry scrub and gum trees. But that not to say there is no good riding at all. The singletracks I have ridden at the Gap and Daisy Hill have all been great and have been well maintained by the local 'trail care' groups. I wish there was a lot more altitude, rock, roots and wetness. But on the upside the weather is almost always outstanding, so you never get rides called off, and you never bring a spare layer (or ten).

We also hit the trails early. Not Wellington early. But Queensland early. Standard sift is a trailhead meet at 5.30am. and if I am riding out its a 4am get up. By evening I am falling asleep same time as the kids! Thing about early starts is if you are first down the trail you might be clearing cobwebs. I thrash about a lot imagining some harbinger of death is crawling down my collar whenever I hit a web, but the more common nasty is the golden orb, which although not poisonous, is still an evil chunky s.o.b and Andrew assures me I don't want to be chasing one around my jersey



What about that Six Pack ride eh?! It was an awesome outing to cap a fantastic five years of trail riding in Wellington. It was so good to see so many great people enjoying each others company, the amazing trails and a few beers. I wish we had done it more often. I hope to hear about it happening again over the summer! Sharing lulz and trail time with my buddies was certainly one of the highlights of my time in Wellington. I hope I am lucky enough to build up such a great group of friends here.



Shame about the audio track. Shambolic quick Picasa job.

I have just checked the BLR Farcebook for the first time in a couple of months and found that the lovely Rachel and Liam Drew have had their baby boy Sherlock. I was not expecting that news till December. I guess that like his father, he was a bit premature. Congratulations Rachel and Liam!!

I have my first race against the Aussies on Sunday. A popular 4 hour Enduro in which i am entering the SS class. I wonder how it will go? I think the course is not hilly and mostly has climbs we'd just think of as pinches, so I might be ok on the usual prep of no riding and too much chocolate and beer. Certainly the local trail hounds I have been riding with from the excellent shop , For The Riders, are very good and made me feel old. Fingers crossed I won't bring too much embarrassment upon the pink and black. I will report back next week. But I am sure that my race report will be beaten to publication by all the other race reports from the events I know the team have been attending!

Time to go and start marinading my kangaroo steaks for dinner. No shit. I really am. Yum.

Cheers
Dave

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Bushlove Quasi elites beaten

Quick News bulletin.......
Bushloves XC Vet Whippets get outclimbed by Karl "Weasel" Patterson. Then as an Ex Pro-elite dh'er should he rides away from them on the descents. Shame on the "elite" xc whippets of Bushlove lore, for they have been diminished by a fast talking hyperactive ex downhiller, shame!!!!!

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The Spartan shower scene they never showed...

After a dirty/muddy day of racing around Mt Vic in the PNP Champs, we were all pleased to find they had showers to clean off in:

Seriously though. Bushlove have been together now for ~3 yrs and are more like a family than an over rated bunch of lazy bikers. When ever anyone of us is in need of some pick me up or good old banter, the team is there for them. I mean just the other day I mentioned to my fellow BL'ers that I had this annoying Copacabana song in my head, when suddenly out of the kindness of their hearts, Waggers and Belinda made new lyrics to this song to ensure it was PERMANENTLY etched into my brain... and am sure this will most likely pop back into my head at the most inopportune moment (about half way through Taupo Huka Challenge or even worse... date night) Thanks guys... &*!!!#%&*@*^#%

So it Was PNP Mountain Bike race #2:
Mt Vic has to be one of my favorite race locations for many a reason. But most of all the fact that it is such a good spectators course. Every time I rode through the velodrome I would hear the roar of friends or even better Lil T (Daughter Tyler), Big L (Son Logan) and my Lovely Wife cheering me on "Go Daddy Go, Go Daddy Go" Sometimes up to 10 people chanting this out... Huh!!! am sure last time I checked I had only fathered 2 children...

In typical Veledrome style and missing the usual Slacky, someone had to race off the front only to be rolled on the first up hill. This time it was Angry Hundy Bennett off like a rotten egg. As the race went on the course got slipperier and slipperiririer. Giving me more and more excuses for a lay down in the bushes. 5 in total I counted, that's more lays than a George Michael pajama party.
Thanks to Trent Bellingham for the pic:

I won't go into full detail, but the essence of the Masters category went something like this. Tiger to the top of the hill, Angry close behind, Palmy Burglar (Weasel - Karl Paterson) chasing hard but in podium still. Tiger down the hill, Weasel close on his heels, Angry stopping to pick daisies. Tiger to the top again, Angry finished picking daisies and steamed up behind with Weasel watching from a distance . Lap after lap this went on till the finishing order was sorted. Tiger, Angry and then Weasel.

Was great to see out of towners coming down from the likes of Palmy for a bit of mud slinging and to keep us locals on our toes.

Big thanks to all the organisers and marshals for getting out on this wet glorious day to make this event happen, special thanks to Marco for bringing along his hose. Never have there been so many men and the odd women flailing the God Fathers Hose around.

Thanks to Trent Bellingham for the pic:

To top my weekend off, Ozzy had bean beaten in the Rugby the day before and I was nicely wine'd up and tiddly sitting in front of France Vs Canada Rugby.

Till the next race :)
Tigs

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