Sweet singletrack, pine forest magic awaits! Get your team together and register for 12 hours of mountain biking heaven!

Open Men Solo – Prize money 1^st Place $500!

You heard it right! NEMTB has locked in $500 for 1^st prize for the Open Men Solos. Get your entries in.

Early Bird Discount – Only 5 days to go!

Just a friendly reminder that the “Early Bird Discount” finishes midnight Sunday. This saves you $10 pp.

Ay-Up Will Light Your Way!

Battling to get a couple of pairs of lights together for your team? You’re in luck. Ay-Up Lighting Systems have made 10 demo pairs available for those who are quick. To book a pair email pbhosking@bigpond.com . Once your booking is confirmed you will need to complete your full registration with 48 hours or they will go back in the pool.

Sore Muscles!

Following a few hot laps you will be able to chill and relax with a professional massage. More details on the day.

The Piney is go!

After lots of track fairy hours we have one very sweeeet race track all marked (black arrows). So far the fastest male lap has been 33:05min and 37:38min for the girls. Please close the gate while practicing, it will be open for the race. Check out the track map and description here.

 

More Info clickhere

 

 

 

Holly Harris competed this morning in the U19 Australian XCO National Championships being held in Adelaide.

It sounds like the XCO (Olympic Cross Country) course had lots of vertical metres and wasn’t quite as technical as some of the previous All Mountain Series races she had been competing in. In saying that I think you can notice a little bit of claret on one of her knees, we will have to wait for that story. Anyway it seems those climbs suited Holly down to a tee as she comfortably took out the green and gold jersey!

Apparently Holly is enjoying roaming about in her well deserved jersey, who wouldn’t! Also well done to Emily Parks from the coast who it looks like she took out the third place.

Registration is open for NEMTB's major event of the year, UNE 12 Hours In The Piney.  This 12 hour enduro mountain bike race is on Saturday March 10 2012.  See the event webpage for more information.  Either click on the event logo on the left side on the NEMTB webpage or copy and paste the following link.

https://sites.google.com/site/une12hoursinthepiney/home
People who enter before March 3 will receive a $10 early bird discount.  Simply put the appropriate discount code Solo, Pairs or Fours (case sensitive) in the promo code field during the online registration process.

The bridge Slip N Dip has lived up to its name, during heavy rains in the back of November, and been washed down river a few metres.

So it will be getting a nip n tuck. Below is an artist’s impression of what Bill’s modifications are going to look like. No issues with flood waters now!

In addition we will push to complete a new section of black arrow track to reduce the number of bridges we need. Tools needed; gloves, track rakes (club has a couple), whipper snippers, shovels and bikes.

Meet at the second entrance into the Armidale State Forest (The Piney) along Rockvale Rd (Summer Series entrance). It is 1.6km past the first turnoff into the Piney.

We have a couple of busy bees to get some critical work done to get The Piney and Kookaburra Crest sorted. Once again MC Platts SuperTrax will be keeping us on a very tight time schedule and has overridden the idea that we do both busy bees back-to-back in 8 Hour Enduro format. He stated, “There’s time to work but there got to be more time for play, so bring your bike.” He followed on with a bit of a rant and rave stating, “Good people sacrificed a lot to get the 3 hour Volunteer Week!” So come and assist with what you can, then bailout if needed.

Kookaburra Crest – 2pm Sunday 4 Dec

The focus will be on putting in the sleeper paving over a wet section, pruning, whipper snipping track sections and some drain digging (shovels).

Meet at the corner of Crest Rd and Newton St.

The Piney - 2pm Sunday 11 Dec

The main job will be replacing the new bridge, that was relocated with last weeks rain. It will be getting a lift.

In addition we will push to complete a new section of black arrow track to reduce the number of bridges we need. Tools needed; gloves, track rakes (club has a couple), whipper snippers, shovels and bikes.

Meet at the second entrance into the Armidale State Forest (The Piney) along Rockvale Rd (Summer Series entrance). It is 1.6km past the first turnoff into the Piney.

PS - Don’t forget the Junior Development and Bike Maintenance sessions this 9am Saturday 3 Dec at Kookaburra Crest.

A team of NEMTB, guided by our illustrious Publications Officer, Steve Chappo Chapman, have managed to secure all the major sponsors for the 2012 UNE 12 Hours In The Piney. As you may have already guessed the University of New England (UNE) has come on board as the Diamond Sponsor (naming rights) and Armidale Dumaresq Council as the Platinum Sponsor (media). Other cash sponsors are Hutchinson and Harlow, Jock Bullen’s Armidale Bicycle Centre and Newcastle Permanent. Our first product sponsor on board is Skirt Sports, watch this space for more on this new comer to Australia.  Further product sponsors will join us to hold a high altitude 12 hour enduro.

NEMTB would like to thank all these partners who have made it possible to hold this event. So get out there and thank these businesses. If you’re looking for information click on their logos on the NEMTB home page.

Also check out the half page ad that will appear in the Mountain Biking Australia magazine in the first edition next year.

So all you solo riders start training or build yourself a team of two or four.

Watch for more details on the UNE 12 Hours In The Piney on the dedicated race page which will be populated in December.

NEMTB will holding a Junior development/experience day on the 3rd of December.  

It will start at 9am at Kookaburra Crest (cnr of Crest Rd and Newton st).

The event is for all riders 18 and under. All you need is a bike in working order, covered shoes, helmet and gloves.

There will be a $5 cost per child to cover club insurances. Free with MTBA licence holders.

There will be a safety brief followed by some instruction and then and introduction to the new track. It is aimed to be informative and will be suitable for all riders from beginners to experienced riders. Children will be released at 11am but are free to stay for a session on basic maintenance from 11 to 12.

The maintenance session (11am to 12pm) will be open to all juniors and and adults.  It will cover identifying the parts of a bike, drive train maintenance, how to change a tyre and basic setup.

Please pass on to anyone you think will be interested. Call David Harris (0415254614, david@rfsadvice.com.au) if you have any questions.

David Harris is a qualified Level 1 Mountain Bike Coach and will be holding this event under the NEMTB Club and MTBA guidelines.

Article from Armidale's The Independent Newpaper Wed 16 Nov.



Local mountain biker Holly Harris flies to Perth tomorrow, Thursday November 17, to begin a series of national mountain bike races. The races in Perth this weekend are part of the All Mountain Cup.  This is a series of mountain races designed to find out who are the best cross country mountain bikers in Australia.

Holly, who is 16 years old, has won everything on the local and state level.  She is excited about her upcoming races.

“I am really excited to see how I compete against the fastest girls in Australia and whether all my training paid off,” said Holly.

The All Mountain Cup consists of races in four locations over the next four months: Perth in November, Mount Buller in January, Canberra in early February and Newcastle in March. In addition, Holly will travel to Adelaide in late February to compete in the Nationals.

Holly recently secured a sponsorship deal with Specialized. She has a new bike and all the matching gear that top riders need.

Holly is a member of the local mountain bike club called New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB). She can be seen regularly testing her skills on the Pine Forest tracks or clocking up the miles on her road bike.

Holly is coached by her father David Harris. David is a qualified mountain bike coach and he has been putting Holly through a gruelling training regime. He is happy with her preparation.

“Her training has been thorough and demanding but I think she is ready,” said David.

http://www.armidaleindependent.com.au/wordpress/?p=3388


RESULTS

Results should be posted on the following address, select the Results tab. Holly will race three formats;  Sat (XC 12:30 EST) and Sun (XCE 12:00 EST and Super D 6:30pm EST) so keep checking the results.

http://www.mtba.asn.au/national-events?view=event&id=1

Harry (Dave Harris) is also over there competing. I hope the Harris’s share the podium with others, oh well at least a little bit.

Chappo’s well organised third Get Active session was held in the Piney (Armidale State Forest) last Thurdsay, with a great turnout. There were riders of all levels out to have a crack. Harry (Dave Harris – qualified Level 1 Mountain Bike Coach) ran through a couple of lesson plans covering bike setup, riding drop offs, skinnys and seesaws. He managed to teach the technique to allow everyone to work up to and complete all these obstacles. There were loads of cheesy grins from people that never released that they could ever complete such technical structures. Nice work to everyone who really challenged themselves and Harry for being a great coach.

If you have missed the last couple of Get Active sessions make sure you’re there next Thursday at 5pm. We meet at the second entrance into the Armidale State Forest along Rockvale Rd (250m past the Tilbuster Ponds traffic bridge). If you’re not a NEMTB or Mountain Bike Australia member come along as the Armidale Sports Council are covering the cost of the day licence. If you’re under 18 please ensure you bring a parent so they can sign your consent form.