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Mountain Bike Blog

Silver Mountain Bike Park - is there a better descent in the world?

WOW - Lithium Trail - Teton Pass, Jackson Wyoming

The not so enjoyable part of Mountain Biking in Whistler

Bottom of the World - Surviving Whistler Top to Bottom

Conquering Whistler's Top of the World Trail

Fantasy Enduro - Enduro World Series Fantasy Game

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MTB Trail Videos - Trail Centre Upgrade Program

VIDEO: The Fourth 365 Days of Reign - My 4th year of Mountain Biking

Pilot Wilderness Ride - Cascade to Pinch - Part 2

Pilot Wilderness Ride - Cascade to Pinch - Part 1

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VIDEO: Top XC Rides of 2014/2015

VIDEO: 2015 The FAIL Awakens

VIDEO: Nine Days in the Rotorua Redwoods

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VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part IV - Eagle vs Shark

VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part III - XC Lower Mountain Pedally Days

VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part II - Heavily Rooted

VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part I - We're Going To The Redwoods

Video: Return to Rotorua ... ok to go!

Video: Return to Rotorua ... definitely maybe!

Video: Return to Rotorua .. maybe?

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VIDEO: Rotorua Redwoods - Create Breathing Space

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2013 Another Year of #FAIL

We're going to ride the Rotorua Redwoods

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Merry Christmas from MTB-TV - What a year its been

How to view web based KML files on your mobile device

Epic Brake Bleeding Solutions - Avid Brake Bleed Kit

The Lone Wolf enjoys some group action

 

 

Reflecting on the weekends achievements

 22/1/2013

At the moment I'm lying in bed dosed up on Valium trying to overcome an injury that saw me misalign my sacroiliac joint (where the pelvis meets the spine).  Sadly not an injury sustained on the trail but while opening the door to the office!!  It has given me time to reflect on the weekend riding achievements.

I'm not a Strava junkie however I use it every time I ride to monitor my progress.  I'm a relative noob to the sport so it's exciting to see the minutes coming off as I get better and fitter.

On Saturday I rode Manly Dam with a work mate who is a very fit bloke.  While my 6" travel - All Mountain bike had him well and truly covered on the descents and technical sections on the flat it only took him a few cranks to be off in the distance.  I knocked a good 20 minutes off my lap time by halving the number of breaks and also took a few minutes off my ride time.  That was exciting, however the only PR I set on Strava was on the road climb on the southern side, everything else was 3rd best.  That was a little frustrating.

On Sunday I met up with a former colleague to ride Ourimbah for only my 2nd time.  Not only has this guy been a MTB tragic for many many years this was his home track.  He and his mate had already done a lightening fast loop before I got there not that it appeared to make any difference.  I had however given them full warning there would be a LOT of stopping on my loop.

Despite feeling like a total nuffy compared to these guys I was very happy with my progress.  Around the whole trail my speed was well up, thanks to the fitness and confidence gained riding in the Snowy Mountains for a week.

I almost did the drop on Jurassic but after going over the ladder bridge I borked at the top and decided to chicken out.  I got through Burnt Forest with only 1 or 2 foot downs (massive improvement) and rode the berm.  I even got seriously close to making it up Jelly Leg. 

The rocky bit on Rollercoaster is my bread and butter so it was great to let fly over the ladder bridge and through that section without hesitation.  I then got up Red Belly Rock without putting a foot down, in fact I think I got all the way to the Dipper without dropping a foot .. and rode the Dipper for the first time.  Meadows .. well that defeated me before I even got there!

The final exciting moment was to get through Browns with only one foot down, the second last left-hand switchback - damn it .. I'm not so great going left.  I was however pretty stoked, no .. totally ecstatic to get up the right turn and subsequent climb of Heartbreak Hill.

When I checked Strava it was 45 minutes off my lap time and a good 8 minutes off my riding time with a PR on every section. 

That had me smiling all the way down the F3.

Not a Strava junkie but ... my 3rd (and unofficial 1st) on the Mt Kosciuszko Summit Trail had me foaming!!

 

Trail Centres and Trails featured in this blog

 

Comments:

This website is brought to you by MTB weekend warrior Aaron Markie.
There are plenty of great websites out there with a wealth of information about Mountain Bike Trails,
however in my experience its hard to get a good mix of info, maps, photos and videos of trails I've never ridden.
The idea of this website is to tie those 4 elements together and give you a more detailed look at the MTB Trails I ride.
If you have anything to add then let me know.