2011 Nzo Single Speed National Championships

[Hawkesbaymtb]

2011 Nzo Single Speed National Championships
Press Release #1, Friday 28 January

Secret Squirrel rumours are running wild in Hawke's Bay this week! Hot goss is that Mellow Johnny has been in Napier trying to suss out the 2011 National Single Speed Course in secret. But no such luck, his G-IV parked at Napier airport was not discrete enough to miss organiser's eyes.

Yes entry to the eagerly awaited 2011 Nzo Single Speed National Championships is about to open at 00.01am on February 1st 2011. The wait is nearly over and the tattoo's are waiting.

It's a pleasure to have Gaz and the team at Nzo involved in another SS event - so get your outfits primed for 'best dressed comp' Timo! And get brushed up on your food and wine matching skills - your in Wine Country remember so expect a few gourmet surprises on course.

Check out http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz to enter online – (got to wait thou till 00:01 1/02/2011). This year’s event is strictly limited to the first 250 riders so get in quick. April 23rd is race day this year, which falls on Easter and ANZAC weekend, so pack your bags for a fantastic escape to Hawke's Bay. Over $3000 worth of spot prizes up for grabs and a special souvenir T-Shirt included in your entry, so get training and book out your calendar!

PS: Lance if you ask nicely I'll take you for a spin around PanPac Eskdale MTB Park to show you the lay of the land - Single Speed required, Speight’s optional. Vix :)

[Hawkesbaymtb]

‎2011 Nzo Single Speed National Champs
Online entry is now live !!!
Event info, postal entry form or online entry is all here

There's a limit of 250 entries, so don't miss out !!!
...Special earlybird prize draw for those who enter by 31st March.

http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[Hawkesbaymtb]

Press Release #2, Tuesday 1 February, 2011

The 2011 Nzo Single Speed National Championships entries have now opened. Some of you were burning the nite stick just to be first in, and so with a hiss and roar at midnight on 1/2/2011 it all began.

Entries started pouring in immediately, with Rob Parbery from Australia - first cab off the rank! How fast is he on the bike thou? This year’s Champs are limited to 250 entries and with the first 12 spots already taken within the first 12 hours, it is expected to sell out very quickly. So don’t delay in entering online at http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz , or download an entry form & join via snail mail, to avoid any disappointment. You can worry about training later

For all of you out of towner’s coming for a relaxing long weekend in Wine Country Hawkes Bay, check out http://www.hawkesbaynz.com for accommodation deals and stuff. Amongst the handy/recommended and bike friendly places are Kennedy Park Top 10 and Quest Apartments. It is a long weekend with Easter and ANZAC, so come enjoy all that Hawke’s Bay has to offer.

We hope you will all enjoy the single speeding revelry and expect to experience some of our wine country hospitality, with Speight’s Ale House and Trinity Hills Winery. We are stoked Speight’s Traverse is to be the official beer sponsor of this event for another year and of course Trinity Hills for the wine. So join our team down at the dock, at Speight’s Ale House, West Quay, Ahuriri in Napier, where we will be holding the registration, tattoo unveiling and prize giving party.

As someone else correctly eluded to in the past, “it’s not about the bike”, in the single speed world it’s actually all about “your outfit” and if you’re fast “where will I put the tattoo?” So all I can suggest is to have a look at the outfits on display at this weekend’s Rugby 7’s for training. Oh and don’t forget if you are heading to PanPac Eskdale MTB Park on a single speed - what gear will you ride?

http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[UZUMATI]

So did LA suss out the course ? Was wondering when the course will be released as am thinking of going for a sneaky sift this weekend...will of course get my visitors pass...costume is underway, upgrade to 29inch wheels (check)....going to be a better performance that the worlds last year...can't wait....

[Hawkesbaymtb]

I think the SS course will be kept secret either until the event, or at least until the week of the event - it's been kept very hush-hush amongst the event organisors - & I'm not one of them... I'm just the club secretary

As for L.A.'s family holiday in Napier, I don't believe he got out that way, I think they spent most of their time at Cape Kidnappers Golf Resort.

http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[BiteMe]

How about any hints on the course... Hilly, flat, beer, weetbix?

[Hawkesbaymtb]

As far as I know it will be within the Waipunga block at Pan Pac Eskdale MTB Park, so some parts are flat, there's also rolling terrain & then depends how far they make the course go up the hills ! - I'm sure there will be a bit of everything, all on pine needle covered single-track (clay soil based), within 21yr old pine trees.

(NB: Our trails are generally quite technical - narrow/rooty/twisty, etc)

Speights is the beer sponsor

If you're in the region, grab a visitor permit & go & check out the trails, which are in excellent condition at the moment.

http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[Hawkesbaymtb]

2011 Nzo Single Speed National Champs
Press Release #3 - Wednesday 23 April, 2011

It’s time to get your entry in for the 2011 Nzo New Zealand National Single Speed Champs. Don’t miss out, as this is limited to 250 riders. Enter at http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz.

With this event being held in Hawke’s Bay this year at Easter, it’s an unique opportunity to race in a National Championship. It’s on your back doorstep at PanPac Eskdale Mountain Bike Park! So get your entry in and book out Saturday 23rd April. Why not invite your mountain bike mates from out of town, make a weekend of it and start training!

Get your entry in before March 31st to avoid the late entry fee and get in the early bird draw to win an amazing accommodation package from Quest Apartments in Napier.

Single Speeding is about having fun while pushing the limits on a trusty single speeded bike, mountain bike optional, single speed compulsory. This is for all, for those who enjoy ‘a good time’ - to those who are going for the glory of winning; a unique tattoo for top male and female to prove it.
The course will be ….(you will have to wait till race day)….expect it to be hard n fast, with a shortcut (beer?…wine?…chocolate?) thrown in to keep you all guessing. Dressing up and having a laugh is unavoidable, just check out some of the highlights from previous NZ and World Champs at http://www.rotoruasinglespeed.com for inspiration. We already have entries from Australia and a Unicyclist – a true single speeder. So don’t delay, get your entry in and come enjoy one of the craziest/funniest races you will ever do.

We have some fantastic sponsors on board for this event, with over $3000 worth of prizes to give away. Best dressed will be receiving a fantastic prize pack, include cycle clothing from Nzo, with Avanti Plus Hastings and Cranked Cycles & Triathlon supplying some wicked bike gear. Thanks also to Speight’s Ale House, Trinity Hill, Raisey’s, Pak'nSave Napier and Takaro Trails for support this event.

So get your entry and come have a blast and a laugh.
For more details and to enter go to http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[Hawkesbaymtb]

Just over 24 hours until earlybird entry cut-off @ $70 entry fee.

From 12am on April 1st 2011, entry fee will include the late fee, therefore = $90 entry fee

All entries include a souvenir t-shirt.

Limit of just 250 entries, so get your entry in now to avoid missing out !!!

Event will include some popular trails within the Waipunga Block at Pan Pac Eskdale MTB Park, achievable to all abilities of rider, aimed at approx 2 hours winning time.

Enter online now (Visa or Mastercard only), or download an entry form (PDF)

http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[VERT]

Was going to goto Rotorua for easter, now off to Napier

[Hawkesbaymtb]

The 2011 Nzo Single Speed National Championships are all go in Hawkes Bay..!

At the 31st of March early bird cut off date, we had a total of 85 riders entered. Congrats to Mike Anderson from Upper Hutt for taking home the first of the prizes up for grabs (early bird rego) – a fantastic 2x nights studio accommodation package from Quest Apartments Napier for 2 people – Well Done!.

With only 10 locals entered so far, it looks like current National Senior Men XC champ Luke Osborne will be gunning for his first tattoo. No doubt the “Old Bugger” and current World Single Speed Champion Garth Weinberg, from Rotorua, will give him a good nudge

It’s not too late to enter. …….Come on you HBMTB guys ‘n gals…. this great event is on your back doorstep, come support your club….. please don’t leave it till the last minute… we have some great support from the sponsors, up for grabs is over $3000 worth of prizes..... you don’t even need to be in first place to win (but you do if you want the tattoo, bragging rights & the title)….

PRIZES: Avanti Plus Hastings have put up for grabs one very cool Solo Fixie bike and Cranked are putting up a 29er Jamis Single Frame, complete with flames – wicked..… so go on, go get an outfit for a laugh… get your entry in and come have fun at Eskdale on your single speed this Easter/ANZAC weekend… its easy to convert your existing bike, just pop into your local bike shop and get them to sort you out.

So get you and a mate entered and come meet some other mad mountain bikers, on our local tracks, from around NZ and of course Aussie. We have even lined up a live band for your spectators/groupies (aka family), with plenty of food and coffee and we promise to have some great vantage points for onlookers to watch the action. What better way to spend Easter – biking ‘n meeting like-minded mountain bikers - Anyone can enter!

Enter now at http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz.

Note the entry fee is now $90 p/p and includes the Nzo 2011 SS champs event T-shirt within your race pack.
Remember – this event is all about FUN! Dressing up in your favourite ‘fancy dress’ outfit isn’t compulsory but it is 100% encouraged!

Training Tip: Don’t over think it – Just do it!
Below is what some people do on bikes, but don’t expect this at the Single Speeds:

"I have seen insanity and it happens on the streets of Valparaiso, Chile. The “Valparaiso Cerro Abajo Race” is a legendary urban bike race and is more extreme than skydiving out of an exploding F-18 piloted by Charlie Sheen - while chugging a 2 litre of Mountain Dew. The rider must brave jumps, stray dogs, and flights of stairs along the steep downhill path. The first person perspective provided by the excellent helmet cam lets us take in every glorious and frightening detail. Do yourself a favour and watch this one in full screen mode."
- Enjoy the Ride!

[yak71]

Cant wait for more SS craziness.
A few of us coming up from Welli complete with our whanau this time.
Never been to Eskdale before so looking forward to that.
So, the same old question.What ratio for there? Same as I run for everywhere in welli and in rotorua? I take it it's not flat.....

[stealth mode]

will the course be marked the Friday before?

[Hawkesbaymtb]

Will the course be marked on Friday 22nd? - now that will be telling...
NB, if you want to ride at Eskdale on any other day than the official event (which is Sat 23rd), you will need to purchase a Visitors Permit, (if you are not already a current club member), which is valid for 3 weeks, includes a colour, waterproof & tearproof trail map & an ID tag & only costs $7 each - available at all local cycle stores, I-Sites, the Bayview 4 Square or on the club website.

An article in local rag today about this event:

Getting all dressed up this Easter for a cycle ride
by Neill Gordon, Napier & Hastings Mail - April 13, 2011

The most bizarre cycling event Hawkes Bay has ever seen is planned for Easter Saturday.
Riders are coming from around the country and overseas for the "party on a bike" that is the 2011 Nzo Single Speed National Championships, says BikeNZ Hawkes Bay's Vicki Butterworth.
Aside from the fact that all bikes will have only one gear, other novel aspects of the sport of single-speeding include outlandish costumes, sanctioned shortcuts via beer tents and a much-coverted top prize of a tattoo.
The best sporting comparrison is probably the dress-up fest of the Rugby Sevens, says Butterworth, who represented New Zealand at the World single-speed Championships in Durango, Colorado in 2009.

The top half-dozen riders should finish the multi-lap 35km PanPac Eskdale Mountain Bike Park course in less than two hours, but for many of the up to 250 competitors, finishing won't necessarily be the goal.
"There will always be four or five at the pointy end who are fantastic riders and going for it but, for the rest of us, it's just a laugh and a ride and something a bit different - to do a beer shortcut instead of riding a bit further.
"You don't need thighs of iron. Riding a mountain bike with one gear is physically challenging but it's about being able to laugh at yourself - saying I can't make it up that hill, I'm going to have to run, or I can do three laps but there's no way I can do four or five."

The multi-lap course will also suit spectators who can enjoy the live music, coffee and food stalls while the racing is under way. Some riders will be on purpose-designed single-speed bikes, some on converted geared bikes and others on original single-speed retro bikes. Anything - even a child's single speed BMX - goes.
"It's a very simplistic, purist form of the sport", she says. "You ride quite differently. When I'm single-speeding, in the dips I tend to stay off the brakes because I want to get as much momentum up the other side."

Top talent at the event will include Australian Rob Parberry, Garth Weinberg of Rotorua (the current World Champion), Tony Harding of Napier's Cranked Cycles, Vaughan Phillipson of Taradale's Pedal Power AvantiPlus and Hastings rider Luke Osborne.
The event has only two categories, Open and Old Buggers, for competitors over 35 years. More than $3000 worth of spot prizes will be up for grabs.
The first spot prize, a two-night studio apartment package from Quest Napier, has already been won by an Upper Hutt entrant.
Entries close at midday on Friday, April 22.

Enter Online - $90 (Visa or Mastercard only), or download an - Entry Form (PDF).
Just 10 days until the big day! ENTER NOW. (we nearly have 100 entries, so far)

http://www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz

[sifter]

so, I'm opting for this instead of cycle touring on my own down south. Queen Charlotte - Nelson will have to wait until spring...

with the Easter theme, I'm a bit gutted. I'd make such a good Jesus on the cross right now, but I just can't bring myself to do it...