3 Towers was, as always an absolute blast, we had a
full house of riders, some great new trails and a super chilled out vibe with
everyone learning what real mountain biking is all about! We had a great
turnout of local riders but the guys from the highveld really came to have a
party on their bikes and didn’t leave disappointed, as I said to a
few Jobergers – if you practice your skills at the PWC Bike park then
Mankele could be a culture shock!
The pro’s were in force – as were
the doping control guys, and as at the Lesotho Sky race the combined skills of
Max Knox and Rourke Crouser proved way too strong for their competition,
building up such a substantial lead in days 1 and 2 that a 5 min delay due to a
puncture on day 3 didn’t affect their overall placing. I think that some
of the Pro’s actually resigned themselves to fighting for scraps once Max and
Rourke fired up their engines.
I managed to sample some of the 3T trails whilst the race was running
and it was all I could do to turn back and wait for the winners, I even went to
ride Bees and Avalanche on Tuesday morning just to get some of these
perfectly ridden in single tracks.
On the subject of new trails we joined Andy Murray on Saturday to
rip the new bush tunnels cut in the forest behind Uplands, some really nice
lines with swoopy g-outs and steep drops to keep you honest offer up something
to run slow and steady or full on and ragged, definitely gonna make another
trip soon!
Other news is that our own adopted Lowvelder and Valencia Team rider,
Amy Beth McDougall and her partner Grant Usher made the trip to Japan last
weekend for the Single Speed World Champs. Now despite my own thoughts on bikes
with no gears (my legs are too weak) there’s no getting around the fact that
it’s a huge hippie party and our Amy Beth Won! she’s now a 2 times World
Champion, how many other local teams can boast that? None I hear me say…
Chainsuck
Now despite my penchant for MTB I’m not afraid to admit that my daily
training ride of choice is a road bike, I really love the smooth tarmac of the
climb up Hilltop and the way your bike spins up to speed but as far as being a
roadie that's pretty much it for me. So Sundays CANSA race (ride?) was something
different, all the local well dressed sheep were out, groomed and prepped like
giggly prom girls to to parade their carbon and lycra finery, so that when the
flag dropped the fashion show was over and cycling was pretty much a interlude
until the finish offered more catwalk opportunity. We need more of this in the
Lowveld and some prizes to go with it. Having said that I would like someone
from the road fraternity to explain to me why you only need one Commissaire at
a 3 day 700 rider MTB stage race but 7, yes SEVEN, Commissaires at a 250 rider
3 hour road race? No wonder there are so few road races, its simply job
creation for the old school guard, and they wonder why MTB has taken over….
Valencia News!
So 2015 is sprinting towards the finish line like Usain Bolt on Red Bull
but fear not! Valencia will shortly be launching its 2015 bike blow
out – ready for 3 Towers!
And yet we already have some of the new 2016 bikes in stock! Big sellers
for 2016 will be the new Scott Spark 920 with Sram 1 x 11 and Fox bouncy
bits. The new Spark 910 is also upgraded with new 2016 XT 2 x 11, and the
Momsen Vipa XT for 2016 is also in stock in all its shiny Orange gloriousness!
Not leaving out the roadies – Valencia is also the new Cervelo
dealer with bikes NOW IN STOCK!
So despite one local shop now only offering one flavour of fruit juice
the V Team is still stocking the full Liqui Fruit range!
UPCOMING
NOON 2 MOON
Its back on again on the 28th November at Merry Pebbles with
some BIG CHANGES!!!!
To avoid prolonged riding at night in the rain – yes it ALWAYS rains! We
have decided to start at 10AM and end at 8PM - the
kids race will start at 12:00 and end at 6PM as usual.
Its going to be huge thus year and we may limit numbers so get your
teams entered ASAP otherwise you may miss out!
Flyer and form attached – you can also enter at Valencia as well as www.entrytime.com
Merry Pebbles has also got special accommodation and camping offers
so book now! 0137642266
See ya on the dirt!
Cheers, Brett Coats