Mountain Biking was my adjunct to
climbing for years. If it was too damp to climb, it was usually half decent biking conditions, and if stuck without a partner, the two could be nicely combined. In the winter (this was the early days of indoor walls) I'd ride a lot for fitness and wait for the next climbing season. I then stopped riding for a few years after moving to London, and I've only ridden sporadically until recently. I tend to enjoy long-ish XC rides the most, but if they can throw in some fast singletrack, I'm all for it. Which is why I quite like
The Oaks.
I completed one
Polaris Challenge, in, I believe, 1996 at Kielder. The event ended badly in results terms when our great first day score (which might have squeezed us into the top-20, IIRC) was redacted for a late arrival, and day two left us both demoralised and sore after pushing a little too hard on day one. Still, it was a fantastic ride, and worthwhile if only for the memory of descending snow covered mountains in large packs of riders, basically skiing down the path by kicking the rear end of the bike around, yelling and whooping with exhilaration.
I still have the same
bike, believe it or not. It's old, and it's outdated and it's a bit heavier than a modern hardtail, but I like it and we have a history together. I have augmented it with a
BMC Speedfox, however.
I'm keen to do some tracks in the Blue Mountains in the coming months (Jan 2012), which I'll post here as we go along. (update:
Narrowneck done, in a thunderstorm and in good conditions.
McMahons Lookout done,
The Oaks done, for others see the
trails page)
I'm currently keeping an eye on and improving the
Bike Paths In Sydney and
Cycling In Sydney Wikipedia pages (my username is
StopThatAstronaut). Please let me know any interesting info on the topics that you might have.
My Bikes
as of 15 Mar 2012 I have two other bikes on loan from Tim (Esther's dad)
Wiki Pages
Racing
I used to do race events back in the day. After getting almost fit, I'm booked to participate in some races this year
I'm most excited by the marathon distances, 100km being my favourite. Timed Enduro racing appeals less, and I don't think I have the power-endurance for short XC any more, but I guess I could work on that over time.
Links