Only two weeks to go.... have you entered?

http://www.mountainbike.orcon.net.nz/

Loving this summer weather, the Vulcaniser is a scenic wonderland on a fine day.

w00t

mtbrat wrote: Only two weeks to go.... have you entered?

I finally stopped mucking around and entered this morning

now trying to convince the fridge it'd be a great first mtb race for him to do too

Craig and I are heading out to the course tomorrow (5th) to finish a section of track but we only have one helper so I don't think we'll make much progress. If anyone is free to help us we'd really appreciate it. Give us a call tonight on 322 7886 as we'll be leaving around 8 am in the morning and cellphone reception is limited up there. You are welcome to bring your bike and do a lap or two too.

Sorry Bek, I can't help on the 5th, but I'm keen for the 12th, and I'm there on the19th.

Not long now, the finishing touches are being made to the track to make it the quintessential singletrack course in eNZed

XCWife wrote:On Saturday Colin, James, Craig and I finished the new track that takes riders from the end of the spur up on to the 4WD track. It is pretty steep in places but hopefully fun to ride. We have named it the Dodgy Bit in recognition of all the effort Colin (Dodge) has put in to trackbuilding projects around the place.

This weekend our focus is preparing the course for the big weekend at the Vulcaniser. The pictures below will give you an indication of what is involved. We have learnt that it is easier on the body to mow the grass in the paddock rather than scrub cut it so we will be
mowing the path that the bikes will take through the start/finish area
mowing the areas for the tents
scrubcutting the grass in open areas on the course
taping in the trees where the track is less defined
putting out standards in open areas ready for the tape on the 18th
clearing rocks from the carparking area
clearing rocks from the bike path in to the start/finish loop
putting out arrows
spraypainting hazardous roots/rocks
pruning overhanging branches in the Boars Nest/Trimble track
And if we do all that and there is still time and energy to be exploited we can always widen more of Lovers Lane! (If you haven't trackbuilt at the Vulcaniser before, Lovers Lane is a rock hard section of track that everyone always avoids working on).

The more we do this Saturday, the less Craig and I will need to do on Friday (18th)

So, if you are free to come we will find a job for you to do. If you can bring a lawnmower, even better! If you want to bring a bike and do a lap or two, it will help bed in the Dodgy Bit.

Finally, if you are free to help at the Vulcaniser weekend (19 and/or 20 January) and haven't already given me your name, let me know and I will slot you in. We need 3 more helpers for Saturday 19 afternoon (you can ride in the morning), and about 5 more helpers for Sunday 20 (all day).

R&R Sport Vulcaniser and South Island Cup final
Open Day... Saturday 19 January, Race Day... Sunday 20 January

The Course
The course is in fantastic condition and if it stays dry it will be very fast like it was at the 2006 Nationals. For those who have not been there for a couple of years we have made several modifications to cut out most of the steeper downhill sections. We have also widened some sections to make them easier to ride and pass on. Thanks to all the people who have put their time and energy into improving the course and getting it ready for the big weekend, and to those who are helping run the weekend.

If you think the Vulcaniser course might be too hard for you, please come to the Open Day and give it a go. You will be able to bike around at your own pace, walk sections if you aren't sure about them, and hopefully have a really great time.

Entries
Thanks to everyone who has already entered either through our website, or through BikeNZ for those wanting points for the series.

You can enter on the day but it will cost you an extra $5. If you want to avoid this please fill in the form, linked from our site, by this Monday (14 January). It is really helpful for us to not have to process entries on the day so we would really appreciate you entering early if you can. You can find the link at www.mountainbike.orcon.net.nz

If you are coming along just to the Open Day, you also are encouraged to fill in your details (for safety reasons) which will save you time on the day. Open Day people can just pay on the day so it doesn't matter if you end up not being able to make it. Filling in your details now gives us an indication of numbers to expect which is also helpful for us.

If you are entitled to free entry to the open day just give the people on registration your name and they should have you recorded on a list.

The weekend
I know that lots of you are heading out for the Saturday, either as a practice for the race, or for the Open Day. This is going to be a really laid back day so pack a picnic and your bikes and head on out. The course will be open for riding from 10 am to 5 pm. Underground Coffee will be there on Sunday, and if they can manage it, on Saturday too.

We realise it is a bit of a trek out from Christchurch and if you are coming back on Sunday you may want to consider camping at the backpacker place in Waipara, or at the motels in Amberley and make a weekend of it. Let me know if you need their details. It would be great to have you cheer on those who are racing - lets hear some noise in the forest!

Those of you who are racing can look forward to the prize draw for prizes from R&R Sport, Daniel Schuster wines, Ground Effect, Barkers, NZ Mountainbike Calendars, Underground Coffee, Em's Power Cookies, Anti-flamme, ITU ltd and mtbskills.com. Thanks to Dole there will be bananas for all, and Horley's are providing Replace sports drink. The event has also been supported by The Southern Trust, Payroll Services, New Zealand Mountainbiker magazine and LJ Hooker and of course all the sponsors associated with the New Zealand Community Trust South Island Cup.

Will local knowledge give Ben Thomas an edge in the hotly contested U19 category at the Vulcaniser?

XCwife wrote: Will local knowledge give Ben Thomas an edge in the hotly contested U19 category at the Vulcaniser?

more importantly - will the weather gods be kind and NOT give us 35 degree temps to race in

feel sorry for the people up working to prep the course today - it must be scorching up there

It was tiring, but sweet as. The course is in the best condition I've ever seen it in.

apart from the heat and the wind............it was mint!!

Damn straight it was hot I went thru 4L of h2o!!! Anton cooper is gona throw down some quick laps, It was pretty cool to see him hussing around at break neck speed. He was kind enogh to show me how to ride the two new corners that I couldn't get on the first lap. the course is looking potentially very fast...come on 35deg....hot but not tooo much wind.

JUANGEAR wrote: He was kind enogh to show me how to ride the two new corners that I couldn't get on the first lap.

Today was the first day those two new corners had been ridden as the track was only completed last week and so hadn't been tested. I hope to work on them next Friday to make them work.

Thanks for being our guinea pigs.

I am sunburnt.

Thanks to Aaron, Jason, Paul, Anton, Richard, Michelle, Nick, Mike, Graham, Ross, Dayle, Colin, Bridget and Craig who came up with us to prep the course today. What a team! They could feature in a "that man deserves a DB" commercial. Mike and Colin just about mowed a paddock, Anton went around the whole course with a leaf blower, several of them scrub cut long sections of track and the rest swung grubbers and spades making bits of track wider while Craig, Paul and I put out arrows and tape.

And all in a scorching hot howling norwester. The wind was so gusty it was a struggle to open the car doors and you had to pedal downhill on the open sections to go forwards.

It was so great having their help. In previous years Craig and I and one or two others have done that work the day before the race and so have started race day already exhausted. It will be nice having a week break - Craig's even thinking of entering the race which he's never been able to do before.

All that work - hope you are going to come up and make the most of it

The metservice forecast for next weekend is for light winds! Hope they are.

Jason & I found the temperature quite agreeable in the Waipara Junction Hotel.

The weekend forecast for Waipara is looking great - fine, around 20 degrees and little to no wind

Let's hope it stays like that. I know JUANGEAR wants it to be 37 degrees but a mild 18-20 degrees would please most riders and marshals.

Bring it on.