Footprint: Chocolate Foot News, September 2011
Dear All
We've been pretty busy since the last newsletter with two more fun and successful SRAM Singletrack Mind Series events at Wingello and Mount Annan. Having just come back from Lithgow, we can tell you that you're in for a treat at Round 6 of the Series! And coming up in a couple of weeks we're holding our first organised social ride for the girls only, in conjunction with Ride In Workshop ... all of that and more below, enjoy the read!
2011 SRAM Singletrack Mind Series
Round 4 - 21 August, Wingello State Forest, NSW Southern Highlands
As the heavens had opened and seemed reluctant to close, we were closely studying the forecasts in the lead up to Round 4. Luckily, after a damp start, Sunday turned out fine and the sun even poked its head through the clouds for most of the day. Some had simply stayed in bed, others turned up only to retreat to the safety of the local cafe without riding, but the many hardy singletrackers who braved the dampness were rewarded with great competition on the wonderfully grippy and fast-drying Wingello trails! And the added bonus of not packing up wet tents was no doubt appreciated by all, including us!
Round 5 - 18 September, The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan
While we luuurve the great natural venues like Nowra and Wingello it’s pretty cool to rock up to a purpose designed facility like Mount Annan. Apart from the great trails, as a mountain biker it just gives you a feeling of being valued and that our sport matters. Even cooler is the fact that Mount Annan decided to expand their trails and have the new section open in time for Round 5! And so we went from the muddy quagmire of Wingello Event Centre to a green grassy paddock at Mount Annan, campers enjoyed the offerings at Cinema Under the Stars and then were lulled to sleep by the hum of the freeway. Race day dawned chilly but quickly warmed up to over 30 degrees ... indeed it was so warm that Mount Annan’s grumpy magpie deemed it to be too hot and had the day off! Thankfully an arvo breeze took the heat out of the day just as riders were feeling it the most, and we can say with certainty that Sydney's newest mountain bike endurance venue was a massive hit!
Results, Series Pointscore, and reports can be found on the website. Our series photographer Dave Bateman was present at both events as always, getting some amazing shots for you to enjoy - check them out in the Gallery.
SRAM Singletrack Mind Series on Cycling Central!
Great news that Round 5 of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series will be featuring on SBS's Cycling Central programme this Sunday, at 5.00pm. Tune in to check out some great singletrack action!
Round 6 - 23 October 2011, Lidsdale State Forest, Rydal
Last weekend we headed up to check out the new trail at Rydal, venue for Round 6 of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series. While the weather wasn't exactly enjoyable (cold, wet ... and it even snowed on the way home!) the trails more than made up for that! If you enjoyed the old pine forest trails at Lidsdale but hated the long uphill grinds then you're going to love Rydal! Set in native forest it has long stretches of sweeping singletrack that wind along the ridge top with views back over the western rim of the Blue Mountains. There is nothing overly technical but there are rollers, table tops, optional gap jumps, rock gardens and the occasional off camber corner to spice up the fun and keep things interesting. This 8.5km track might not have much in elevation but it'll have you working all the way! This 8.5km track might not have much in elevation but it'll have you working all the way! Check out the Round 6 information for a GPS trace, all the general event info, and we'll be posting up a preview vid very soon.
As always, there'll be top event services, sponsor displays, a great vibe, fantastic prizes, and sweet singletrack ... so get your teams organised and get entered! We're stoked that Flynny and the CTMBC crew have been able to offer this brand new track as part of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series, and can't wait to race at Rydal!
Round 8¼ - Awaba Mountain Bike Park, Lower Hunter Valley
In the spirit of the Spring Fat Tyre Festival, we're keen to include some of the features that made Wannaride events so cool! One of these is the Corporate Teams category, where businesses can organise teams of 10 or more to compete for a Corporate Cup. Corporate teams will be provided with their own marquee, drinks and snacks and all the elements to provide you with a hassle-free day - but of course the riding you'll have to do yourselves, and it's BYO masseuse ;-)
If your business or workmates are interested in getting a team together, then reply to this email and we'll send you more info!
Win a $3,000 Golden Ticket
Don't forget that every entry to the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series puts you in the running for a $3,000 Golden Ticket courtesy of Mountain Biking Australia magazine and Toyota! Enter more rounds for more chances to win! Visit BicyclingAustralia.com/GoldenTicket for all the info.
The Chocolate Ride - Women's Social Ride
We're excited to be combining forces with our good friends Lauren and Jordan from Ride In Workshop to try and get behind women's riding on the Northern Beaches and further afield. We will be organising a women's social ride once a month giving girls a chance to meet other riders and get out there and explore the local trails. We plan to head to a different trail each month to provide variety in distance and level of technical challenge.
Our first ride will be on 15 October around Manly Dam (fittingly we thought as that's where Lauren and Fi first met on a girl's social ride 6 years ago!), leaving from Ride In Workshop at 9am and finishing off back in the courtyard of Zest Deli Cafe for coffee and lunch if you're keen. All welcome but RSVPs are necessary, please see the Facebook event for more details.
Put Your Best Foot Forward - Mountain Bike Skills Clinics & Training
While we've yet to launch our full programme of skills training (watch this space!) we're more than happy to offer one-on-one or small group skills training. What's great about this is that you'll have 100% of the instructor's attention focused on you, and can work specifically on areas in which you need improvement, on a trail of your choice, at a pace that suits you best. Give us a call (0457 084 552) or reply to this email to discuss if you or your mates want to step it up, gain more confidence, and have more fun on the bike!
Sponsor News
Nutrition Education by Hammer Nutrition
Every rider needs access to the best Endurance Sports Nutrition available. Choice of exactly the right nutrition is extremely important – no riders want to suffer during their race.
To purchase MTBR award winning Hammer Products at a 15% discount on the Hammer Nutrition website, select the products online then proceed to the checkout cart. Insert the code CHOC FOOT into the coupon section, click apply. Check out, and your discount will be applied.
The Body Mechanic
Are you a ‘slave’ to your office desk, as a way of funding your bike-bling addiction? Experts include sedentary work-postures as a preventable lifestyle-factor which has a major negative impact on your health. In The Body Mechanic practice, almost every cyclist we see has biomechanical issues which are impacting their cycling posture, as a consequence of sitting all day. We all need to do more than just riding, to get the best out of our bodies on race day. Stretches, stability exercises, Yoga, Pilates, are all ways of reversing the negative impact of our work demands. Speak with The Body Mechanic team about easy ways you can reverse the impact that desk-work has on your body - 02 9955 5842, or email
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Jimmy Jack Wines
Spring - it is an exciting time of the year here at the winery. Obviously it is a time of new life and new growth. It is also the time of longer days and more riding (for those of us who are afraid of the dark). It is always a beautiful time of year in the Upper Hunter, but this time of year it is truly gorgeous. The magnificent weather seems to be heightened by a kind of tingling energy that you can feel in the vineyard and the air itself. Feel the energy and enjoy the ride! Cheers, Graeme Scott – Senior winemaker and avid mountain biker.
Update - Closure of Menai Mountain Bike Trails
Last month Steve Mowle provided some information on the closure of Menai MTB trails and what progress had been made with reinstating access to the area. The news is increasingly promising, check out this post from Steve on Rotorburn for an update. It's great to hear of all riders doing the right thing and staying out of the area so as not to undermine the hard work that Steve and many others are doing. Keep an eye on the Rotorburn forum for updates as they come to hand. Hopefully we'll be back riding at Menai again soon!
Clubby Corner
In clubby corner we like to give a leg up to the people that make mountain biking happen - the clubs.
In late August the Chocolate Foot team proudly supported the Avantiplus Wollongong 2011 NSW State XCO Championships, hosted by South Coast United Mountainbikers at their Superbowl track near Nowra. The XC Champs was a huge hit with over 160 racers, the biggest field at a NSW State event in several years, and positive feedback from all on the quality of the track, organisation, and general vibe of the event. Congratulations to all who came and competed, and to those who left as State Champions - results can be found here. It's great to hear that NSWMTB is working hard to bring back a NSW State XC Series in 2012 as well as a State Champs!
Central Tablelands Mountain Bike Club - Tuesday afternoon races return on 6 September and all riders are welcome. Further details at www.ctmbc.net. Track preparations for our round of the Singletrack Mind Series are coming along nicely, Rydal is proving very popular with our riders and we can't wait to share it!
That wraps it up for this month's edition of Footprint! Don't forget you can also keep up to date with us on Facebook. With the days becoming longer and warmer, we hope you're all getting out and getting ready for upcoming events such as the Scott 24Hr and of course Round 6 of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series!
Cheers
Joe & Fi
