mwg

me and b-rad - photo ross - nick in poo land

as organised everyone turned up for the ride at yellomundee today. i was really pumped because it is usually just me and carbo so the thought of a clan of riders was really exciting. at 6.30 when i woke up it was starting to rain and it didn’t look promising at all for the day ahead. i had a text from ross, nick and brad who were running just a little late due to a flat tire on nicks loaner yeti bike and having to change to knobbys on ross’s before even starting the drive out to yellomundee from the soap offices.

i left at around 7.20 am and took it a little bit more reserved on the decent to the track as the road was wet and the rain had only just passed. as i turn out of our driveway i realised it was blue skys up the mountains which always means it will clear up and the day will be fine.

after arriving at the track that did happen and the day was pretty much perfect. the sun was out but the wind was really cold so it meant that you could ride hard without busting out a mega sweat. the guy arrived and we took off pretty much straight away. i basically took them on the usual run i do which is a good start and warm up with a short decent then a climb returning back to the top side of the car park, around the top twists and then fire trail and onto the first short bends with a few drops.

this then climbs out to the top of the second technical decent and by this stage your heart is seriously pumping the red stuff around and you certainly know you are alive. we descended through it and it was at this point i really started to realise how familiar i was with the track. i know this place like the back of my hand now and i descend with confidence and speed. at one point i was reverse sliding the rear wheel as it was locked up. basically turning into a right hand hairpin with a inner slide - rather than the normal pushed outter slide.

Nic test drives the Yeti from Ross Raeburn on Vimeo.

but not being fooled nick, ross and brad are pretty blood good riders and they kept up really well. considering they had never ridden the track they attacked every part and i was really surprised at the speed we went through the first section in. when we hit the bottom i thought it would be good to go back up the fire trail and do the same section again. on the second run you really can start to enjoy it, you feel so much more familiar with the track. everyone was loving it!

the second time round we took the right at the bottom and went over the bridge, then up the first true technical section. i didn’t get up the first couple of goes but ross was like a goat and didn’t quaver once. straight up np. nick and brad tried but they didn’t really care to much about making it up it so we just pressed on. we made it to the second technical section which i really very rarely have issues with and again ross nailed it first run, as did i and brad and nick tried but again, they don’t really care to much so they walked up.

we kept riding through the track until the traditional “poo” came. this time it was nick so a 5 minute interval was called as he fertilised the track. it sounds gross but every bloody ride i do with 3-4 people there is always a bog stop!

we took off and the track was starting to move more into the flow area. ross was a little behind because he was taking the photo above and then puting his camera away so we rode for a bit and waited for him. as the three off us stood there we heard an all mighty “farrrrk” only to look across and see ross flying through the air without any bike straight towards a barbed wire fence. we asked if he was ok but with no response we kinda started to shit ourselves. thankfully when we got to him he was ok and just a bit surprised i think. FOR ONCE IT WASN’T ME! it made for an amazing view, but man it was funny shit.

we rode through the rest of the first half of the track and made our way back to the clearing/transition area. at this point it was 9.00am so justin and the guys were arriving then so i rode up to the car park to find them just arriving.

in the carpark talkin crap - photo jing

justins mate david forgot water and unfortunately had to drive up and get some from the shopping centre which was a bit of a hike away, so we all waited around until he returned. once he did we took off. all 10 of us BMX bandit style. we followed the same path ross, nick, brad and i had completed earlier. by the time we made it to the bridge everyone was damn happy, but at this point we realised we had lost david. the poor guy hadn’t really been for a MTB ride before and as much as it looked/seemed easy for you first ride it would have been way to technical.

we pressed on though and everyone seemed bloody happy so far. again at the end of the bridge we tackled the first tech climb. ross - up it np again, me, a couple of goes and all good. justin, second attempt and he was up, but most of the other guys had a few difficulties which was pretty normal considering. was great as everyone was keen to encourage each other to get up it.

we continued on to the next technical section where again, i had no problems because i do it every week. ross the same up first go, justin 2nd attempt and he had it totally done. a few of the other guys did make it up this. then back out onto the flowing track. most seemed surprised with how flowing the track was and how pretty the track is. i tend to forget as it is my local so i just focus on the clock, not the surrounds. not time for rubber necking.

as we made it through the whole track we would stop and let all catch up. again, i tend to forget i am XC all the way, not focused on technical, i am a man with a mission, time, speed, skill. by the time we had made it back to the final stretch everyone was pretty knackered. although it was sunny it wasn’t overly warm the wind was cool but still a good 40min ride had pushed everyone pretty hard.

ross, nick, brad and i had chores for the day so i couldn’t really afford another lap - which kinda pissed me off but that’s the rules when you are a dad. i still had to move .5 cubic  metre of mulch and mow our 4 tiered lawn… no to mention climb the hill to home. the 3km 15min ride up.

in all was a great ride by man, i was happy to ride with others, not solo. nicks loaner 575 was good but it really made me realise how i have made a great decision in buying the carbon hardtail. carbo is completely suited to my style of riding. i am fast on it and am really bedding in with him. although the 575 was a great bike, it would be a marathon ride. nick didn’t like climbing on it at all. today i rode it back to CBD and after a little bit of playing with it i found it not tooo bad for climbing. pro-pedal worked but there is no doubt you would have to spend a fair bit of time setting it all up and the set-up would vary dramatically depending on the riding conditions, track and terrain.

here are some of other images from jing. i took my phone but didn’t ride with a bag, so i took no images. my bad! and thanks jing for taking the shots.

zi the power machine and justin almost making it… so close mr fox!

i really should look around a bit more. it is a pretty special place yellomundee

well done david. at least you gave it a go! props. it ain’t an easy track