Over-all the day was a great success with nearly 300 riders taking the challenge they thought wouldn’t be as bad as all those other MTB races that seem to put more emphasis on the effort involved rather than the fun of mountain biking.

However, the ‘EASY’ may have been over stated and the ‘undulations’ could better have been described as a series of up-hills and down-hills… It turns out easy is a relative term and what Terry described as easy was a very worthy effort for most who took part!

It was certainly ‘epic’ country to ride over and starting from the Snow Farm instead of down in the Cardrona valley made it easier than it could have been to cover the same country.

Next year maybe we’ll have a rest station setup about half way with hors’durves to encourage a more leisurely pace??

The Big NOT so EASY certinly lived up to it’s name. There were  a few comments at the end that it could of quite honestly been called the ‘Absolutely not bloody easy at all!’

Lots of comments about the awesomeness of both rides and those on the NOT so EASY even got above the clouds for a brief glimpse of the stunning views that should of been on offer for all.

Did anybody get any photos? We’ll put up a free entry to any of our events for the best photo emailed to us.

We’ve had a variety of distances submitted from various riders, the NOT so EASY varying from 51km to 72km!! With the couple of last minute changes we made to the course I believe the NOT so EASY was about 55kms and the BIG EASY 38kms, feel free to send in your own measurements.

Many thanks to the great sponsors- especially the Albert Town Tavern, Jamis, Export 33, Thunder Bikes, and Q92MoreFM.

Just email us for more details. Marshal positions could be up on the mountain (4WD drop off and pick-up) or along the river trail close to Albert Town warning the public…

See ya’s on Friday/Saturday.

Terry.

Or would you rather $10 off the entry price? (Yeh they retail for $35 but are only costing us $10) let us know and we’ll sort you out- this is for early entries (before Chriatmas) only.

Should we give it away befor the race so whoever wins it gets to ride it straight away?? Waddaya reckon?

Programme of events:

11:30-1:00pm – picnic lunch with presentations from politicians and participating groups.

1:00 -2:30 pm -  Activities including rafting/kayaking, botanical and historical walks, invertebrate search, history self drive, fishing field trip.

2:30 – 4:00pm – Afternoon tea and concert with Folk Singer Martin Curtis

Bring a mountain bike if you would like to bike over Duffers Saddle, New Zealand’s highest public road down into  the Nevis, or 4 wheel drive vehicle if you would like to drive through to Garston.

Bring your camera so you can enter your best photograph of the day into our local competition and the national photographic competition.

Cheers

For more info contact Sue Maturin
Otago Southland Conservation Officer

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc.
Box 6230 Dunedin, New Zealand DD +64 3 477 9677. M 021 222 5092

Check out the results here (keep scrolling down to see who’s in the teams)

Well done to  Team Opus A- winners of $1000 worth of advertising on Q92MoreFM as our Champion Business!