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Post by crummy on Mar 31, 2009 19:00:14 GMT 10
WSMTB and MWMTB Combined XC Series
Round 1 was held at the well used Yarramundi track in Western Sydney. The series is popular with heaps of competitors in every categories. There was a mid morning start or so, I guess to let coastal riders a bit of time to get out west.
The racing in the A Grade field was extremely fast. It was good to ride with the top Elite State XC riders. The track incorporated new sections from the recent 8hr series but was limited to about 6km in length. This cut out the most northern an southern sections of Yarramundi.
I had a good ride, feeling strong from start to finish. I would have been quite happy to punch out a couple more laps and didn’t drop to the granny ring for the tough technical climbs like I did during the 8hr. I placed 8th in A Grade and had a fun morning out.
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Post by crummy on Apr 29, 2009 10:49:09 GMT 10
WSMTB/MWMTB XC Round 2
Just when I thought I had seen the hardest sections of Yarramundi the course is altered again. There were two tower of power climbs to the power lines. A new section to me that had been dubbed the V-ditch, which required some precision riding. This was linked back to Bens Bridge and the associated technical rocky climbing tracking right from the bridge. With all this extra work on the eastern and southern side of the start/finish area most of the northern sections were not utilised.
Again I lined up with the A grade riders, with the likes of State Elite and Australian Championship representatives in the mix. All these XC racers could mean I get let behind a bit but Shane Taylor, a great enduro rider, was also there. He was the rider I wished to keep up with.
The A grade riders did whip them selves into a frenzy straight off the mark and half a lap later were out of sight. I kept my lap times consistent and within a minute of Shane's times as the XC racers did leave us fairly well behind. I went on to place 6th, which I felt was good for such a challenging track and not all riders finished their designated laps (even in A grade).
Numbers were down from the previous round which could have been because of the school holidays. Even still, they did have a mix of competitors from A grade through to Novice.
More at my blog, see link below.
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Post by crummy on Jun 10, 2009 21:14:12 GMT 10
WSMTB/MWMTB XC Round 3
This weekend I headed out to a possible damp Yarramundi for the third round of the WSMTB/MWMTB XC Series. At rego they had the point score results for the first two rounds and there is my name sitting 4th down in A Grade. Sweet!
From the start there was hot competition, Mr Price, Mr Elliot, Mr Gordon just to name a few. It was fast and furious up the front and I kept up for the first kilometer but their attack of the climbs was what I could not replicate. I did all I could but wasn't the only one to be left behind, my first lap was fun, swapping our "lead" with the other riders.
But it is amazing in cycling how fast you can come from nowhere, then how fast you are brought back to size.
Check my blog link for all the details.
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Post by Lewy on Jun 15, 2009 20:18:50 GMT 10
Good to see your still loving it Crummy
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Post by crummy on Jul 7, 2009 20:35:34 GMT 10
WSMTB/MWMTB XC Series Round 5
Finally there was a change of location for the WSMTB/MWMTB XC Series. The change was from MTB hot-spot Yarramundi to a property in Springwood. Blue Gum Lodge has a sweet track winding through its small forested area. This mostly single track crosses gullies and sandstone and chases its tail around the tight slopes of its choice Blue Mountains location. A great change from the usual and chance to ride this private track.
The A Grade bunch was made up of the fast and very fast. I slipped in behind them of the start then made up places on the first open corner with a great line and plenty of speed. I pushed the limits on the first lap, catching myself out on a smooth log with gravel around it. It could have been a combination of speed, distance to the rider in front and tyre choice. The small block 8s I felt were at their extreme with the small loose over hard-packed, sandstone, soft grippy soil and all the switchbacks.
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Post by crummy on Jul 7, 2009 20:36:36 GMT 10
Good to see your still loving it Crummy Catch ya soon mate, keep eating that dirt!  |
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Post by Lewy on Jul 8, 2009 20:46:24 GMT 10
Nice one mate.
You should really send some of your reports in to some magazines.
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Post by crummy on Sept 22, 2009 16:35:58 GMT 10
 ???WSMTB/MWMTB XC Round 6? Well it has been a while since the last XC round and it was back at Yarramundi again. A Grade riders were again very fast, with the likes of state XC elite riders mashing the pedals at the front. The track only had one tower of power climb on the day and skipped the furthest north section too, around seven kilometers long I heard. It was very dry, dusty and a bit loose in sections. On the first lap I passed Big Dog, which felt a bit unusual, and held him off for a lap or so. Mr Armour had some issues on the first lap as well, failing to finish the race. I was out to have fun as usual, with a bit of two wheel drift here and there. The eight block tyre on the rear has lost much of its tread and is still predictably loose. After five fun filled laps I placed sixth in A Grade. Thanks to Mick (who rode well in the big B Grade) for helping me get to the race and bringing his port-a-shade, keeping us cool.
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Post by crummy on Oct 27, 2009 18:59:14 GMT 10
WSMTB Club Championships Lining up with some new faces in A grade with plenty of lycra and all riding light hard-tails. the weather was stuffy and warm, it didn't take long to raise a sweat during a short warm-up. predictions were of rain later in the day, I hoped it would hold off till after the race. launching off the line in the usual sprinters fashion we headed down the trail in road train style. over the course of the first lap I found track conditions at Yarramundi to be dry and fast. just not fast enough as the pack rode away over the course of the first few laps. It was on the second lap that my mechanical luck finally ran out. Turns out it has been a very, very long time since a good mechanical put me on the side of the track. So National Parks had been out with the slasher and sorts trimming here and there, putting a variety of sticks over sections of the track. It could have been one of these or just a random black wattle that jumped out from the track to catch it's self in my rear derailleur. Many times before I have caught the stick here, pulling up and removing the offending piece of timber. This time the little blighter ate half my jockey wheels on its way through, strike one. Strike Two and Three here, mcrummy.blogspot.com |
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Post by crummy on Apr 19, 2010 19:59:00 GMT 10
It was a tough choice of events the weekend just gone, and........... Racing with WSMTB was not as well supported this week probably due to all the other events within a couple of hour of Sydney (Lithgow, Southern Highlands). We raced the usual dry Yarramundi, fast with some loose over hard. The racing was fast in A grade as we chased Andrew Lumley around for 5 laps. I moved through to 3rd place mid race but slipped to fourth during a technical climb and couldn’t recover the time the rider gained on me. After all that I rode home fairly happy with the days riding. This week is all preparation for this weekends road ride to Canberra. The Old Goose will keep its semi-slicks on, a set of Tri-bars will keep me out of the wind and a HRM will keep me in check, ensuring I have the legs for the trip. Saturday will include a trip around the trails of Canberra, most likely concluding with a loop of Stromlo. Just can't wait for the ride back, all down hill! Have made another couple of batches of dense muffins, you can really feel the weight in these. One batch is banana, pecan and arrowroot biscuit, all padded out with skim milk powder. The other is choc-chip and pecan, these ones are a bit on the lighter side, just padded out with coconut. With the weather turning a little cooler the oat based muffins will surely make a comeback, just like porridge. All the flash graphics at mcrummy.blogspot.com  |
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Post by crummy on May 24, 2010 11:52:06 GMT 10
"We are racing the track in reverse." Your what, have you had a brain explosion, sure a little bit of track here and there, but the whole track? Sure there are many tracks out there that can be run both ways but after years of racing at Yarramundi it had a certain feel, with its rutted out descents and smooth winding climbs. Could it be run against the grain? This is how I found it. Nothing was unusual as the A Graders lined up for the start, Lumley was mentioning how little he had been on the mountain bike, we where just preparing to desperately chase him around for five laps. Gordo had turned up, possibly to check out the track for the next round of the Single Track Mind Series. We were off and I got a good start, a short sprint to the first single tack section and I was on Gordo’s wheel. He entered one of the first few corners to hot and slid out mid bend, I was covering what I thought was the good line and made my only pass of Gordo ever. I held him till the track opened up, he didn’t have to call track and he overtook me via a massive wash-out and loose gravel climb. Lumley was first into the single track at the start of the race and now had a good couple of hundred meters head start on Gordo. Read the full story at mcrummy.blogspot.com |
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Post by crummy on Jul 26, 2010 11:59:22 GMT 10
WSMTB held round 4 at the delightful track at Blue Gum Lodge. The track is short at just 4-5km long and features many sections of natural sandstone, both climbing and descending. The track winds its self around the slopes of the property and there is a fair amount of parking and room around the transition area for all your racing needs. With the convenience of the facilities at the lodge, Blue Gum is a great location for XC racing. What is even better about Blue Gum is that it is further away from home than Yarramundi. Yarramundi is a nice 50 minute leisurely ride before a race, but Blue Gum is in the mountains, a fair bit further away. I gave myself two hours to get there as the M4 is about an hours ride then it was all up hill to Springwood. I didn't want to blow myself up just on the climb out of the flats before the race so I took it easy along the Great Western Highway. The racing in A Grade was the usual, fast and mostly furious. Gav had plenty of power after a short stint on the bike last weekend and lead from the start of the single-track. He went on to hold that lead on his big wheeled machine as the remained of the A graders struggled to maintain contact. Further back there was the battle for fourth place between Sebastian, Brad and myself. Brad and I were gaining on the fast starting Sebastian when I was caught out by a slippery pallet and found myself in the dark soft dirt. Brad passed me and I didn't recover, loosing 30 seconds. It wasn't long and Brad was on Sebastian's wheel, then passed him. I was only 30 seconds from Sebastian and would catch sight of him regularly as we wound our way around the course. He held on to the slim gap over the final laps as we had to contend with the lower grade crowd starting out on the track for their race. Read the full story at mcrummy.blogspot.com |
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Post by crummy on Sept 14, 2010 18:20:31 GMT 10
Wasn't the weekend just perfect for a bit of MTB riding? WSMTB held their monthly XC racing on Sunday and after a coolish start to the day, it wasn't just the racing at Yarramundi that was hotting up. Even with a sprinkle of rain during the week the track held up and conditions were fast and dry. These high speed conditions lead to smashing battle in A Grade with Tom Chaffey outgunning big hitters Lumley and Gordo in the first lap. Some over exuberant and late night festivities saw Chad Gossert have to pull out of the race early in the peace. Lumley and Gordo were virtually neck and neck for the remaining laps, Gordo went on to pinch the top spot after some super fast final laps. Tom Chaffey found their intensity a little outside his league backing off each lap and holding onto the third spot. Full report on A and B Grade thanks to Steve at mcrummy.blogspot.com |
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Post by crummy on Mar 17, 2011 9:34:45 GMT 10
Turns out for the 2010 season I placed 3rd in A Grade for the series, that is consistancy for you.
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???WSMTB/MWMTB XC Round 6? Well it has been a while since the last XC round and it was back at Yarramundi again. A Grade riders were again very fast, with the likes of state XC elite riders mashing the pedals at the front. The track only had one tower of power climb on the day and skipped the furthest north section too, around seven kilometers long I heard. It was very dry, dusty and a bit loose in sections. On the first lap I passed Big Dog, which felt a bit unusual, and held him off for a lap or so. Mr Armour had some issues on the first lap as well, failing to finish the race. I was out to have fun as usual, with a bit of two wheel drift here and there. The eight block tyre on the rear has lost much of its tread and is still predictably loose. After five fun filled laps I placed sixth in A Grade. Thanks to Mick (who rode well in the big B Grade) for helping me get to the race and bringing his port-a-shade, keeping us cool.