JetBlack 12hr

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Coming off a late shift week was probably not the preparation I had in mind heading into the Rocky Trail weekend at Dargle Farm. But so it was, fighting sleep deprivation and an out of whack body clock we arrived early Saturday morning for the crispy cool start of the JetBlack 12hr. Arm warmers and wind vests were a must as the temperature hovered around the one to two digit mark. Team Enduro Pulse all had arrived with our dedicated support crew, excited to get out on the bikes, ride and have some fun.

With a simple plan in mind for the next 12 hours, I wasn't going to get bothered by the racing up the front, just keep in my heart-rate zones, transition fluidly, ride smart and have a ball on the Yeti. It took a lap to settle in and just a couple of laps to sort out the best of the chosen lines. The track was in fairly good shape and in most cases got better as we went on. A mixture of open fire-trail, rocky single-track traverses, berms and pumps, with just about all the downhill sections being single-track. I even managed to use the 27 tooth cog, finally a climb tough enough!

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After some solid hours out on track I got the word my laps were consistent and I was sitting comfortably in the top 20. It seemed like everyone was out for a good time, happy to chat and offering room to pass. There were few incidents that I saw, the occasional flat of the first few hours, a couple of chains broken and a few of the unfortunate stick V’s hanger outcomes especially after the 5km mark along the flat. There was a generous vibe and relaxed atmosphere over the course of the 12hrs, can’t forget a big shout back to those people encouraging me throughout the race.

Full report on my blog check it out, later.

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Jet Black/Rocky Trail/Western Sydney 12hr

The 2010 rendition of the Jet Black 12hr saw the event moved from Yarramundi National Park to Dargle Farm which is about 30 mins drive north west of Windsor, Sydney. The move was required due to the national park restricting the number of competitors which were allowed to be entered into the event. Due to the popularity of this event, this number was almost tripled, so a change in venue was required. The last time this track was used was in 2007 for the then Sydney 24hr run by Bright Orange Events which I was competed in as a team of 4. From what I remember, the track layout this year was very similar to that which was used 3 years ago, a good mixture of tight, technical single trail, open, transitional fire access roads and fast, hair raising descents.

A big thank you to the Enduro Pulse guys for supporting me during the event, Rocky Trail Entertainment and Western Sydney Mountain Bike Club for running the event and Dargle Farm for allowing the mountain biking community back onto a sweet piece of race track.

Full report at http//:mcrummy.blogspot.com, Cheers, Mick Smith

Check out the Product Reviews for Mick’s thoughts on his new bike, Regards Crummy