MTBA members vote YES to AusCycling

An overwhelming 89% of MTBA members today voted to approve AusCycling. Read more here.

MMBCC Xmas Party - Tuesday 17 December

It’ll be held at the Mansfield Hotel in the courtyard, under the tree (or in the function room if the weather’s not nice) on the evening of Tuesday 17 December starting at 6.30.

(Also, an update from the last time this was mentioned in a newsletter a fortnight ago - there are no Dirt Crits scheduled for this night - you were right Micala.)

Please RSVP to either Judi Duke via email or on 0417 551 116 or Kate Stonnill via email or on 0438 098 594… by Tuesday 10 December!

Dirt Crits Gravity Enduro 2 - a fantastic night of gravity racing

By Damian Grundy

A few of the favourites were missing i.e. The Crash Bandicoots (AKA Matt and Elise Empey and Mr Dan Friday) get well soon y’all.

Most everyone kept it rubber side down and racing was fast and furious. Protests will most definitely NOT be considered with some exceptions.

Items of note:

Finally persistence and ragged style paid off for James Griffin with a fastest run in the second leg. Congratulations James.
A ‘ring in’ competitor JJ (we think it is McConnell and it would help if Adam Baker wrote his bloody name and contact details down as requested!). A protest has been lodged (Second against First) on the basis of unverifiable identity! Word on the street is that the protest stands a good chance of success. The racing Stewards, Messrs Grundy, Grundy and Grundy, are to assemble soon to consider the evidence.
In Men’s B, River Reeve flew down the hill in both runs showing the field a clean pair of heels in the overall. Rumour has it that he might have turned a blind eye to the plight of his crashed brother Hunter in the first run. Considering he started after and finished before there is little doubt that he passed a stricken Hunter. Brotherly love is a wonderful thing. Thankfully Hunter’s main injury was to his pride. Better luck next time Hunter.
Ruby Dobson was in fine form and won Women’s with a comfortable margin to that venerable veteran of the women’s field, Rachael Grundy and the young’un Maddie Smith in third.

Here are the results. Next week is the Delatite Dash from Carter’s Road to Mirimbah.

You could win a car!

Now that we have your attention, have you sent an RSVP to Judi or Kate for the MMBCC Xmas Party?

The Black ‘n’ Tan’s back!

By Bruce Halket

The Black ’n’ Tan was back on Thursday 28 November when 13 of the hardest riders of the MMBCC lined up for a lap of the Chapel Hill Road Loop, a 29km handicap race including 4km of gravel.

First away from Pollards Road was a lonely Hunter Reeve as the Limit group on a generous 20 minutes. He was followed seven minutes later by Micala Jacobs, David Jagger and Craig Wilson off 13.00; Ian Conrick, Steve Curnow (on his mountain bike!) and Tim Hall off 7.30; Cam Lachal (NOT on his new bike!) and John Lazarov off 5.00; AJ Stephenson off 3.30; Bruce Halket off 2.00 and the Scratch group was Steve Brown and Ewyn Carter.

The only catch along sector one of the ‘black’ was Halket getting Stephenson just after the turn onto Chapel Hill Road after 10km; the two worked well for the next few kays to the ‘tan’.

At the other end of the gravel, Craig Wilson posted yet another DNF! Wilson has a reputation (some say it’s well-deserved) for not being able to finish a MMBCC road race with gravel, by always managing to have a flat. This time, he confounded the critics, sort of, by not having a flat. His rear tyre managed to delaminate - going out of ‘round’ meaning he really couldn’t keep riding but keeping intact his remarkable record of DNFs on the dirt.

By the end of 4km of ‘tan’ the back end of the field was really close; a huge off-road effort by Brown meant he and Carter had Halket in their sights; he in turn had almost caught the Elles (Lazarov and Lachal) and they’d almost caught Conrick, Curnow and Hall.

They all came ‘together’ on sector two of the ‘black’ but a new group of Brown, Carter, Halket and Lachal formed as they climbed the last little pinch before the Buller Road intersection. This was when nearby residents wondered whether the train line to Melbourne has been reinstated and a steam locomotive was being used - such was the noise of Halket’s breathing as he tried to stay with the Scratch group.

These four could see the Jays in the distance (Jacobs and Jagger) and managed to finally get them about 1km before the line.

But none of them saw Hunter Reeve - he’d simply ridden away from everyone and wasn’t seen again - he won by over 5 minutes! Brown was second (and fastest overall) ahead of Carter, Halket, Jagger and Jacobs who was Fastest Woman.

Many thanks to our volunteers and officials for a safe, well-run race.

Thanks to Alex Green, Melanie Green and Tony Copland for the pics. Here are the results.

Next week is the dreaded O’Hanlon’s Hill finish; entries to the usual number by 8pm Wednesday please.