Singletrack Mind Series

The Chocolate Wrapper - Event Report, SRAM Singletrack Mind Series Round 2

Dear Singletrackers

As Round 2 of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series approached with a decidedly wet weather forecast we wondered if perhaps we were a bit jinxed. After having to postpone Round 1 at Awaba due to torrential rain and knowing that rain renders access to Coondoo Road difficult, we thought we might have been paying for our awesome run with the weather last year. But race day dawned with clear skies and throughout the day competitors wore dusty moustaches rather than muddy bums, not to mention massive grins from the experience that is the fine and flowing singletrack of Coondoo Road.

We were stoked to have 51 women competing in the event, making up 17% of the total entries. The girls from Silent Revolution are doing a fantastic job in encouraging female mountain bikers with a website through which they can broaden their networks whether it be to find riding buddies, race partners, or chat about women’s issues. We’re pleased to be offering their members 20% off race fees at the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series for female teams & soloists. Please spread the word to other women you think might be keen to race or benefit from being part of the Silent Revolution network!

Congratulations to all the category winners and place getters for their incredible efforts, and who walked away with around $12,000 in cash and prizes from our fantastic sponsors SRAM, Avid, RockShox, Truvativ, Leyzne, NZO, Hammer Nutrition, Jimmy Jack wine, Aussie Butt Cream, Kenda, Mountain Biking Australia magazine and Muc-Off! And congratulations also to Chris Smee, the lucky winner of the draw prize, a RockShox SID XX fork worth $1200!

A big thanks goes out to our awesome event services: Castech Sports Technology for their fantastic timing service with massive scoreboard, results café, and live to the web results. SRAM and City Bike Depot provided awesome tech support, there was a shiny new fleet of Merida demo bikes, and there was no rest for The Body Mechanic Blair Martin as he spent all day providing massage and physio to those with aches and pains. Jimmy Jack had fine wines to sample and many went home with a bottle or two in their prize bags! Mountain Biking Australia magazine provided free copies of their magazines and DVDs, and Muc-Off kept those chains quiet in the dusty conditions. Thanks also to Vincentia High School for providing catering, and we thank you for supporting them as funds raised go into their mountain biking program! Espresso Mobile Café kept people caffeinated all day (very important for event crew!) and St John Ambulance were thankfully able to relax and enjoy the happy vibe with mostly only grazes to attend to.

Results, Photos & Reports

Preliminary results are up on the website. Special Category results will be posted very soon. More news on Series Rankings when the good folks at CycleNation have crunched the numbers!

We can’t wait to see the shots that event photographer Dave Bateman has from the weekend. From the tasters we’ve seen so far, they’re going to be amazing! We’ll post them on the event website very soon. For now, there are a few from local photographer InSight Fotographics for you to check out.

We’ve posted a couple of event reports on the website and also a summary of comments received from competitors, supporters and event services – thanks to all that have sent kind words, we in turn would like to thank all of you for the great vibe on and off track.

Event Crew

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who assisted in the successful running of the event:

South Coast United Mountainbikers – Russ Phelan, Duncan Miller, Kel Hockey and the rest of the dedicated crew from SCUM made Round 2 a fantastic experience. We’re proud to be members of this thriving club.

Riders – We’ve received so much positive feedback on the fun vibe and politeness of other riders, we’re totally stoked that you guys are doing your best to obey Rule # 31!

Volunteers – We couldn't have done this without our wonderful volunteers, for whom nothing is too much trouble and who often go above and beyond the call of duty. You're all awesome!

Series T-Shirts

With all the positive feedback we've recieved about our new series t-shirt, we're not too surprised that they were a massive hit on the weekend! Sorry if your size wasn’t available to buy on the day, pre-order with your next entry to ensure you don’t miss out! And if you forgot to pick up your pre-ordered shirt, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as there were a couple that weren’t claimed.

Transponder return

Did you find an orange timing chip attached to your fork leg when you got home? Oops! If you did, please pop it in a tuff bag or wrapped in bubble wrap and post to:
Castech Sports Technology
PO Box 219, Wahroonga NSW 2076

Lost and Found

We can't help you find your lost fitness or "mad bike skillz" but if you lost some gear at the race we might just have it here. We’ve got a bunch of keys, a multi-tool, a lone glove, and a 3-way allen key wrench, so get in touch if you think you’re missing something.

Putting our best foot forward …

Singletrack Mind Series Round 3 on 26 June at Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra, is a winter-friendly 7hr event. Preliminary info is now available on the website, with course details to be released soon. We know it may be a bit chilly for some to camp at Stromlo, so check out the great accommodation deal from the Crowne Plaza in Canberra. Don’t forget that each entry to the Singletrack Mind Series gives you another chance to win the $3000 Golden Ticket, plus we’re excited to announce that Merida will be giving away a $1500 voucher towards the Merida bike of your choice at each remaining round of the series! How many more reasons do you need to get your teams organised and sign up?

City Bike Depot Deals

We’re happy to pass on info about great deals and initiatives from our series bike store City Bike Depot, who are located on Kent Street, Sydney. They are offering free commuter breakfasts on the first Monday of each month until September. A great incentive to ride your bike to work but hopefully you’ll do it more than once a month! They’re also having a 20% off sale from 6 – 8 June. And if that’s not enough, there’s a demo day at Ourimbah on 12 June where you’ll be able to test a range of bikes including Merida! Check out all the info on their website.

City Bike Depot will be at the next round at Stromlo and are looking forward to riding and wrenching again! They'll be bringing along all the Merida demo bikes, including a couple of road bikes just in case you’re keen for a lap of the criterium circuit

That's it for the Chocolate Wrapper, our event wrap-up and again we'd like to thank everyone for contributing to the success of Round 2. We really look forward to delivering more great days out on the bike!

Cheers

Joe & Fi